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Author: 

Evans,  Charles  T. 

Title: 

Evans's  essays 

Place: 

Providence,  R.l. 

Date: 

1913 


COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  UBRARIES 
PRESERVATION  DIVISION 

BIBLIOGRAPHIC  MICROFORM  TARGET 


MASTER  NEGATIVE  f 


ORIGINAL  MATERIAL  AS  FILMED  •  EXISTING  BIBUOGRAPMC  RECORD 

Business 

254.52 

Eyl        Evans,  Charles  T 

Evans's  essays;  practical  hints  for  retail 
jewelers  by  one  of  them,  Charles  T.  Evans* 
Being  articles  reprinted  front  ^The  liKDufto«> 
turine;  jeneler*"   IVovidenoe^  R.  Frosty 
191S« 

2  p.  1.,  fiiij-xi,  397  p.    front,  (port.) 
On  oomrs  Seoond  edition* 


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EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


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EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


PracUcal  mt9  tor.  Retaji  Jewelers 

.#       *  # 

by  One  of  Tliem 

'         •»»•«,'»        •„''«        1         a  (r.  ,. 

*       t     <■  •  •     •  •    J        ''  •      •  * 

GHARLEa  T.  EVANS 


Being  articles  reprinted  from 
"The  Manufacturing  Jeweler" 


Providinci,  R.  I. 
WALTER  B.  FROST  &  COMPANY 
42  WiYBossBT  Street 
1913- 


■4 


by* Walter  K  i!*RosT 
•    •         iu)8  .  -     -*  - 


Copyright 
by  Waltie  B.  FmofT 
1913 


3  254--  SI 


CONTENTS. 


The  Store  and  its  Departments. 

OlArTBIt  PAM 

I.  The  Retail  Jewelry  Business   i 

II.  Starting  a  Store  with  Small  Capital. 8 

III.  The  Repairing  Department   17 

IV.  S3r8teni  in  Handling  Repair  Work.   20 

V.  The  Engraving  Department   23 

VI.  Advertising  by  the  Retailer   27 

VII.  Advertising  the  Repair  Department   31 

VIII.  The  Buying  of  Stock   35 

IX.  Taking  Cash  Discounts.   39 

X.  Show  Windows  and  Their  Uses   42 

XI.  Cards  for  the  Store  and  Window...   48 

XII.  The  Disposing  of  Old  Stock.   51 

XIII.  The  Optical  Side  of  a  Retail  Store   54 

XIV.  Safe-guarding  of  Valuables   58 

XV.  How  the  Souvenir  Craze  Helps  Trade. . .  62 

XVI.  Side  Lines  in  a  Jewelry  Store   66 

XVII.  The  Jeweler  and  his  profit   70 

XVIII.  The  Basis  for  Credit   74 

XIX.  The  One-Price  System   78 

XX.  *' Your  Money  Back  if  You  Want  it "   82 

XXI.  The  Jeweler's  Guarantee.   86 

XXII.  Why  Trade  Papers  are  Necessary   89 

XXIII.  The  Jeweler  and  the  Department  Store. . .  93 


iv  CONTENTS. 

—     ■  ,         „  f.     ^  

The  Jeweler  and  the  Seasons. 

CHAPTBK  PACK 

XXIV.  The  Beginning  of  the  Year   96 

XXV.  A  Few  Thoughts  of  (xentle  Spring.  103 

XXVI.  June  Weddings  and  Graduations  106 

XXVII.  Jewelry  Business  in  the  Summer-Tinie . . .  iii 

XXVIII.  The  Vacation  Season   115 

XXIX.  Fall  Opening  Day  119 

XXX.  Handling  the  Holiday  Rush    122 

XXXI.  The  Show  Window  During  December ....  135 

XXXII.  Helping  the  Purchaser  at  Christmas  128 

XXXIII.  Preventing  Thefts  at  Christmas-time  i  j2 

Methods  of  Conducting  Business. 

XXXIV.  The  Value  of  a  Good  Name  136 

XXXV.  Co-operation  and  Syston  139 

XXXVI.  Practical  Advice  for  Salesmen  1 42 

XXXVII.  Through  Labor  Comes  Reward  145 

XXXVIII.  How  to  Hold  our  Customers  148 

XXXIX       Reputation  and  Credit  151 

XL.  The  Ideal  Jewelry  Clerk  155 

XLI.  Competition  the  Life  of  Trade  159 

XLII.  Be  Generous  to  Customers  163 

XLIII.  The  Average  Man  Described  166 

XLIV.  The  Good-WiU  of  a  Business  170 

XLV.  Frioidship  in  Business  174 

XLVI.  Do  Your  Best  and  Do  It  Now  177 

XL VII.        Have  Confidence  in  Yourself  180 

XLVIIL       Luck  or  Pluck,  Which  Wins  183 

XLIX.  Comparing  Notes  Profitable  i86 


CONTENTS.  V 


Methods  of  Conducting  Business — Continued. 

CHAPTBR  '•A*^" 

L.  Evils  of  Procrastination  189 

LI.  The  Force  of  Example.  193 

LI  I.  Making  a  Salesman  196 

LIIL  The  Proper  Use  of  Time  200 

LIV.  Tact  and  Dtpkmacy  204 

LV.  Cultivate  a  Spirit  of  Contentment  208 

LVI.  Pointers  about  Store  Keeping  212 

LVII.  The  Follow  Up  System  316 

LVI II.  The  Treatment  of  Customers  219 

LIX.  The  Art  of  Letter  Writing  223 

LX.  A  Business  Built  on  Honor  227 

LXI.  Relations  of  Employe  and  Employer  231 

LXIL  Know  Your  Goods  and  Stock. . »  334 

LXni.  The  Holding  of  Customers  237 

LXIV.  Be  Well  and  Neatly  Dressed   241 

LXV.  Go  Forward  and  Not  Back  345 

The  Philosophy  of  Business, 

LXVI.  The  Line  of  Least  Resistance  249 

LXVII.  Sympathy  for  the  Troubles  of  Customers. 253 

LXVIIL       A  Cause  for  Every  Result  257 

LXIX.  The  Element  of  Chance  261 

LXX.  Profiting  by  Experience  265 

LXXI.  The  Well  Balanced  Life  369 

LXXII.  Self  Satisfaction  ;  Is  it  Commendable  ?. .  .273 

LXXIII.       See  Ourselves  as  Others  See  Us  277 

LXXIV.        Optimism  in  Business  281 

LXXV.  The  Border  Line  285 


vi 


CONTENTS 


Thk 

CKArrsK 

LXXVI. 

Lxxvir. 

LXXVIII. 
LXXIX. 

LXXX. 

Lxxxr. 

LXXX  1 1. 
LXXXIII. 

LXXXIV. 
LXXXV. 
LXXXVI. 
LXXX  VI  I. 

LXXXVIIL 
Ii«XXXIX* 

xc. 

XCL 

XCIL 

XCIIL 

XCIV. 

xcv. 

XCVL 
XCVIL 
XCVIIL 
XCIX. 

c. 


Philosophy  of  Business^  CImi^Smmm^ 

PACB 

Keeping  Everlastingly  at  it  289 

Persistency  in  a  Good  Cause.  295 

Health  as  an  Adjunct  of  Success.  297 

The  Jeweler  and  his  Guarantee  301 

The  Psychological  Moment  in  a  Sale ....  305 

As  a  Man  Thinketh,  So  is  He  309 

What  Does  Your  Name  Stand  For?  314 

The  Ketail  Jeweler  as  a  Business  Man  and 

Citizen  318 

The  Power  of  Example  322 

The  Jeweler  and  His  Watch  Department. 32 7 

Transforming  Lookers  into  Buyers  332 

How  to  Use  Imagination  in  Business. . .  .336 

Positiveness  as  Business  Asset . .  ^  340 

Enterprise  and  Enthusiasm  Hand  in  Hand.345 

Keeping  One's  Courage  High  349 

Confining  Stock  to  Special  Lines.  353 

Tactics  for  the  Reserve  Forces.   357 

How  Summer  Vacations  Help  Our  Busi- 
ness 362 

Views  From  the  Customer's  Standpoint.  .367 

The  Time  to  Stop  Talking  371 

Handliog  a  Group  of  Customers  375 

Living  and  Learning  379 

Taking  Chances  to  Sell  More  Goods  384 

Making  Valuable  Allies  of  Your  Clerks. .  .388 
Relation  of  Credit  to  Success  in  Business.393 


FOREWORD  BY  THE  AUTHOR 


IN  the  fall  of  1903,  there  appeared  in  "The  Manufacturing 
Jeweler,"  a  weekly  trade  paper  published  in  Providence, 
R.  L,  an  invitation  to  all  mtcrested  readers,  to  submit  essays 
on  the  subject,  "The  Art  of  Selling  Jewelry/'  and  offering 
to  tiiree  tabniitting  tbe  most  meritorious  articles,  cash 
prises  a»  rewards  for  their  ^orts.  The  writer  read  tiie  no- 
tice, and  resolved  to  compete.  The  article  which  he  sent  in 
proved  to  be  the  prize  winner,  and,  as  a  result,  the  editor  of 
"The  Manufacturing  Jeweler"  requested  him  to  write  a  se- 
ries of  articles  especially  designed  for  retail  jewelers,  each 
article  to  be  complete  in  itself.  Neither  the  editor  nor  my- 
self had  any  expectation  that  die  articles  would  be  contin- 
ued as  long  as  they  were.  But  as  week  after  week  rolled 
around,  a  new  subject  suggested  itself,  which  was  enlarged 
upon,  and  developed  to  the  author's  best  ability. 

That  the  articles  continued  to  appear  can  be  accounted  for 
in  two  ways:  The  encouragement  given  me  by  the  editor, 
and  kind  letters  sent  me  by  interested  readers  tiirough- 
oat  the  United  States  and  Canada.  At  periodical  times  the 
notion  would  strike  me  tiiat  I  had  exhausted  myself;  that 
the  articles  no  longer  contained  the  interest  or  force  which 
those  written  previously  had;  in  fact  that  the  time  had  ar- 
rived when  it  would  be  good  policy  to  retire.  Just  about 
tills  time,  I  would  receive  a  letter  from  the  editor  express^ 


viii 


FORE  WORD. 


ing  his  satisfaction  with  the  articles,  enclosing  some  dip- 
ping or  card,  which  nc  had  received,  and  teUing  ram  to  con- 
tinue to  send  the  articles  untU  ho  told  mo  to  stop.  Tlion  at 
other  tiiiiei»  kiiid  fnendt  would  drop  me  a  Hue  of  enconr- 
ag«meiit;»  qpeakiiig  eq>cciaUy  of  eome  one  article  which  had 
met  with  tiieir  i^Predation.  Without  the  help  so  freely 
given  in  this  way  I  could  not  have  continued.  The  writer 
had  never  claimed  that  his  articles  were  of  unonial  merit, 
nor  has  that  idea  ever  posseseed  him.  What  has  been  writ- 
ten has  been  taken  from  actual  experience,  and  what  haa 
teemed  to  me  to  be  good  policy  for  us  to  adopt  has  been 
freely  passed  along  throu^i  the  columns  of  "The  Manufac- 
turing Jeweler." 

That  the  articles  met  with  the  iqn»roval  of  tiie  retail  jew- 
elry trade  who  read  tiiem.  writer  has  definite  knoiriedge. 
From  imrcstigation,  however,  I  have  found  that  many  re- 
tailers do  not  read  their  trade  papers  as  thoroughly  as  they 
might  They  feel  that  they  are  so  busy  that  it  is  a  waste  of 
time  to  do  so.  If  jewelers  generally  were  to  read  their 
trade  papers  more  thoroughly  the  trade  at  large  would  be 
thousands  of  dollars  better  off  at  the  end  of  each  year.  We 
read  of  tricka  bemg  played  iqpon  a  Jeweler  hi  one  section  of 
the  country  resultfaig  hi  financial  loss.  If  the  accounts  were 
read  by  the  trade,  each  would  be  on  the  lookout.  But  we 
find  that  the  same  tricks  are  worked  again  and  again  on  jew- 
elers, who  from  the  costliness  of  their  goods  cannot  afford 
to  stand  such  losses.  If  the  jewelers  followed  tiie  issues  of 
the  trade  pliers,  for  no  other  reason  tfian  to  keep  them- 
selves posted  as  to  the  latest  unproved  metiiods  for  IWhig 
without  workmg,  as  weU  as  keeping  in  touch  with  the  old- 
time  games,  it  would  be  worth  their  while.  But  aside  from 
the  preventative  good  which  comes  from  reading  such  pa- 
pers, the  careful  reader  will  find  many  good  suggestions  con- 


FOREWORD.  '  ix 


tained  in  each  number,  which,  if  followed,  will  assist  materi- 
ally in  stimulating  hia  buainesa. 

Read  the  trade  papers;  read  the  editorials;  read  the  con- 
tributed artides;  read  tiie  news  correspondents'  letters;  read 
die  advertisements.  You  cannot  itford  to  slight  any  part 
of  it.  No  matter  if  when  you  read  the  article,  you  find 
that  it  coincides  with  your  own  ideas;  no  matter  if  you  can 
truthfully  say  that  you  knew  all  this  before.  It  is  certainly 
worth  while  knowing  what  the  opinions  of  others  are,  and 
if  they  agree  with  your  own,  so  much  tiie  better.  It  is  cer- 
tahily  a  satisfaction  to  know  that  otiiers  agree  with  you. 

In  writing  these  articles  it  has  been  more  difficult  to  ob- 
tain the  subjects  than  to  write  the  articles  themselves.  The 
field  in  the  retail  jewelry  business  is  quickly  covered  by  a 
writer  on  general  busmess  principles.  A  technical  writer 
m^  cany  on  his  writings  hidefinitely  with  descriptions  of  ex- 
periments made  or  facts  learned  through  investigation.  The 
artldea  which  I  have  written  were  all  carefully  thought  out 
before  they  were  written.  To  find  the  time  to  put  these 
thoughts  into  proper  form  was  sometimes  difficult 

The  writing  of  these  articles  has  been  a  pleasure  to  me, 
and  through  them  I  have  developed  a  friendahl^  and  ac- 
quamtance  with  the  jeweliy  trade  ^iriiich  otherwise  would 
h«te  been  hnpossihle.  To  the  e^tor  of  "The  Manufactur- 
ing Jeweler^  for  his  kindly  encouragement,  and  to  the  jew- 
elry trade  for  their  friendly  interest  as  manifested  by  their 
letters  and  calls  in  person,  I  wish  to  extend  my  smcere  and 
thankful  appreciation. 

CHARLES  T.  EVANS. 

Utica,  N.  Y.,  January  9,  1908. 


PREFACE  BY  THE  EDITOR. 


 o  

MR.  EVANS  has  told,  in  his  "Foreword,"  how  these 
"Essays"  came  to  be  written,  but  he  has  not  told 
why  th^  were  coUected  and  irabliahed  in  book  f  ona 

The  articles,  as  they  iq[>i»eared  at  first  from  week  to  week 
in  **The  Mannfactaring  Jeweler,"  and  later  from  month  to 
month,  attracted    wide-spread    and    favorable  attention 
Readers  of  all  classes,  both  among  the  retailers  for  whom 
they  were  primarily  written,  as  well  as  among  wholesale 
dealers  and  manufacturers,  took  frequent  occasion  both  by 
letter  and  by  personal  interview  to  speak  of  tlie  "Svans  Let- 
ters" in  words  of  Ae  warmest  praise.  Mr.  Evans  seems  to 
have  ^e  faculty  of  expressing  in  straightforward,  readable 
language  the  ideas  and  aspirations  which  the  majority  of 
business  men  believe  in  and  hope  for,  even  if  they  do  not 
always  live  up  to  them.    His  facility,  directness  and  fullness 
of  expression,  concerning  what  might  be  ordinarily  consid- 
ered a  dry  subject,  are  quite  remarkable,  em>ecially  coming 
from  a  man  without  previous  literary  training.  Some  of  his 
essays  on  business  edncs,  and  ^e  attributes  of  personality 
and  character  necessary  for  success,  are  quite  equal  t6  any- 
thing Benjamin  Franklin  ever  wrote. 

Appreciating  the  value  of  these  articles,  and  realising  the 
ephemeral  character  of  periodical  literature,  I  felt  tiiat  it  was 
a  duty  I  owed  to  die  jewehry  trade  to  preserve  tfiese  writings 
in  a  permanent  form.  I  fully  understand  the  financial  risk 
involved  in  the  publication  of  a  book  appealing  to  such  a 
small  circle  as  constituted  by  the  jewelers,  but  if  I  secure  a 
return  of  my  investment  I  shall  feel  amply  satisfied,  while 


PRE  FA  CE 


xi 


if  I  come  out  of  die  enterprise  with  a  considerable  loss>  I 
shall  stiU  feel  diat  I  have  performed  a  distinct  service  in 
rescuing  these  matchless  articles  from  oblivion. 

WALTER  B.  FROST. 

Providence,  R.  I.,  January  25,  190&. 


PREFACE  TO  SECOND  EDITION. 

 o  

WHEN  the  first  edition  of  "Evans's  Essays"  was  issued 
five  years  ago,  it  was  thought  to  be  large  enough 
to  meet  all  possible  demands  as  long  as  interest  in  the 
articles  should  survive.  The  call  for  the  book,  however,  was 
so  continuous  that  the  edition  was  exhausted  some  time  ago. 

In  1909  we  induced  Mr.  Evans  to  prepare  a  second  series 
of  articles,  which  were  published  in  "The  Manufacturing 
Jeweler"  over  a  period  of  about  a  year  and  a  half.  The  best 
of  these  essays  have  been  grouped  and  published  in  frhift 
second  edition,  beginning  on  page  249,  under  die  heading, 
"The  Pfailosq^y  of  Business,"  dins  rounding  out  a  baSL  one 
hundred  chapters. 

One  great  value  of  all  of  these  articles  is  that  while  they 
seem  to  breathe  a  spirit  of  idealism,  yet  they  are  truly  prac- 
tical. They  constitute  the  reflections  of  a  successful  retail 
jeweler,  couched  in  the  clearest  Rngiiyh,  and  teeming  with  ad- 
vice worth  heeding.  No  jeweler  can  read  these  essays  widi- 
oiit  profiting  thereby. 

WALTER  B.  FROST. 

Pwidence,  R,  I.,  Jan.  i,  1913. 


THE  STORE  AND  ITS  DEPARTMENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 


THE  RBTAIL  JBWBLRY  BUSINESS. 


Its  Advantages,  Possibilities  and  Opportunities — Essentials 
for  Success  and  Dangers  to  be  Carefully  Avoided  by  Re- 


If  we  could  have  this  power,  besides  having  the  ability 
to  see  our  faults  and  failings,  perhaps  we  would  be  in  a 
better  position  to  see  the  opportunities  contained  within 
ourselves  and  in  our  business.  It  is  so  easy  to  account 
for  failure  or  defeat  by  saying  that  one's  advantages  have 
been  less,  and  disadvantages  more,  than  have  fallen  to 
the  lot  of  other  more  successful  men,  and  it  strikes  one 
that  fortune  has  favored  them.  The  trouble  with  many 
of  us  is  that  we  are  so  busy  watching  with  a  jealous  eye 
the  progress  of  others,  and  thinking  of  our  own  unsatis- 
factory condition,  that  we  are  unable  to  recognize  oppor- 
tunities which  come  to  all  of  us  with  more  or  less  fre- 
quency. 

"Fortune  knocks  once  at  every  man's  door,"  bat  many 
of  us  are  like  the  Irishman  in  the  story,  who  was  afraid  to 
go  to  iht  door,  for  fear  that  it  was  a  wolf  knocking^ 
We  all  desire  success,  and  read  with  interest  the  lives  of 
successful  men,  but  we  seem  to  arrive  at  the  conclusion 
that  they  were  men  of  destiny,  or  that  some  unusual  cir- 
cumstance has  hap{>ened  to  them  which  has  placed  them 
in  positions  of  trust,  or  connected  them  with  men  so  sit- 
uated as  to  be  able  to  throw  opportunities  in  their  way. 
The  energy  displayed  by  some  mem,  to  avoid  hard  or  dis- 


tailers. 


2 


EVANS'S  ESS  A  YS. 


^[reeable  work,  rightly  expended,  could  not  fail  to  land 
them  at  the  height  of  their  ambitions.  So,  too,  with 
those  who  work  and  scheme  to  make  sl  living  without 
work. 

Of  all  businesses  of  which  one  can  think,  to  my  mind 
the  retail  jewelry  business  offers  the  most  attractive 
means  of  earning  one's  livelihood,  and,  while  it  seldom 
leads  to  riches,  yet  it  almost  surely  returns  a  man  the 
means  for  a  good  livii^  in  exchan|[e  for  his  labors.  The 
jeweler  is  fortunate  in  his  selection  of  his  business  in 
that  there  is  coupled  with  that  business  repairing  depart- 
ments, which  fill  in  time  which  would  otherwise  be  idled 
away,  and  which  in  addition  give  a  man  experience  worth 
considerable,  and  help  in  a  decidedly  material  way  to 
pay  his  expenses  and  contribute  to  his  profits.    This  re- 
pairing cultivates  within  a  man  the  habit  of  industry,  the 
value  of  which  cannot  be  estimated.   The  man  who  has 
very  little  to  do  generally  gets  tired  doing  it.  It  has  been 
well  said,  "If  you  want  a  thing  done,  have  a  busy  man 
do  it."    Because  a  man  is  busy  it  compels  him  to  adopt 
systematic  means  and  methods,  or  he  couUl  not  conduct 
his  business.    The  man  with  lots  of  repairing  cannot 
throw  thino^s  around  on  his  bench,  and  wait  until  cus- 
tomers have  made  several  calls,  before  he  gets  around  to 
doing  the  work. 

The  jewelry  store,  to  be  successful,  must  be  neat  and 
clean,  thus  encouraginor  the  habits  of  neatness  and  clean- 
liness.   The  goods  themselves  should  and  must  be  kept 
looking  bright  and  new ;  the  cards  and  tags  in  like  condi- 
tion.^  This  will  give  you  pride  in  your  stock,  thus  mak- 
ing it  possible  to  make  more  and  better  sales.    Your  re- 
pairing must  be  well  done,  the  best  of  material  used,  the 
different  articles  repaired,  cleaned  and  polished  before 
they  are  put  away.    This  develops  the  habits  of  thor- 
oughness and  carefulness.  The  jeweler  has  to  have  work 
ready  at  certain  times  agreed  upon,  has  to  send  for  goods 
ordered,  etc.,  all  of  which  makes  him  prompt  in  meeting 
promises.    These  habits  once  formed  are  not  easily 
c!hanf?ed,  and  for  that  reason  I  consider  the  retail  jewelry 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


3 


business  the  best  business,  because,  besides  furnishing 
one  with  the  means  of  livelihood,  it  also  furnishes  one 
with  a  moral  and  business  training  which  fits  one  to  enter 
and  carry  on  successfully  any  business,  the  only  require- 
ments then  b^ing  necessary  is  the  ordinary  trade  knowl- 
edge of  that  particular  business,  which  to  an  active  mind 
is  but  the  work  of  a  few  months  to  learn.  A  man  who 
can  successfully  conduct  a  jewelry  store  can  also  success- 
fully conduct  any  business.  I  do  not  refer  here  to  the 
jeweler  whose  entire  stock  is  limited  to  a  small  amount, 
and  who  after  years  of  business  has  not  grown  with  the 
times,  but  to  the  wide-awake-  jeweler,  who  is  so  thor- 
oughly interested  in  his  business  that  he  is  ready  and. 
willing  to  consider  (not  necessarily  adopt)  anything 
which  may  help  his  business. 

The  danger  which  the  jeweler  repairer  has  to  run,  is 
becoming  a  mere  automaton,  instead  of  a  man  with  con- 
stantly growing  powers.  Never  let  the  repairing  depart- 
ment sap  your  vitality  by  the  inroads  which  it  makes  on 
your  time.  If  you  can  aflford  it,  employ  competent  men 
to  take  this  load  from  your  shoulders,  thereby  enabling 
you  to  devote  your  efforts  to  more  profitable  things.  A 
man  can  use  up  more  nervous  energy  mending  some 
broken  piece  of  jewelry,  than  he  can  replace  by  a  day's 
rest.  Also,  with  how  much  pleasure  can  you  greet  a  cus- 
tomer who  enters  just  at  that  moment?  The  proprietor 
of  the  store,  expected  as  he  is  to  wait  on  most  of  the 
trade,  should  be  free  as  possible  from  the  petty  cares  of 
business,  and  should  feel  pleasant  when  he  steps  forward 
to  greet  customers,  as  much  depends  on  his  manner  in  in- 
fluencing the  feelings  of  customers.  Also,  if  a  customer 
happens  to  enter  with  a  trivial  complaint,  and  the  propri- 
etor is  feeling  pleasant,  he  can  probably  handle  that  com- 
plamt  to  the  complete  satisfaction  of  both,  and  send  the 
customer  away  with  the  feeling  that  Mr.  Smith  is  all 
right.  Jumping  up  from  a  bench,  where  he  has  been 
workmg  on  a  mean  little  job,  and  inwardly  cussing  about 
It,  to  be  met  with  a  complaint  at  that  time  sets  his  nerves 


4 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


oa  edge,  and  he  makes  a  bad  job  of  handling  his  cus- 
t<Hner.  So,  I  say,  let  others  do  the  worrying  little  jobs 
for  you.  There  are  plenty  of  other  things  to  be  done 
about  a  jewelry  store.  Why  should  any  one  man,  unless 
lie  is  totally  alone,  bear  the  entire  burden  of  work  and 
details  of  even  so  small  a  business  as  the  average  retail 
jewelry  store? 

Genius,  'tis  said,  is  the  ability  for  hard  work.  The 
mai  who  make  successes  of  themselves  in  politics,  re- 
ligion, business  or  sports,  will  generally  be  found  to  be 
men  who  are  possessed  of  no  superior  qualifications,  but 
have  earned  their  positions  in  the  world  through  hard 
work.  Keeping  everlastingly  at  it,  having  the  one  object 
in  view,  and  working  for  it,  will  generally  enable  one  to 
accomplish  his  end.  Enthusiasm  is  necessary.  It  is  per- 
haps a  hard  matter  to  enthuse  to  any  great  degree  under 
adverse  circtmistances,  but  even  under  such  conditions, 
enthusiasm  will  do  much  to  help  maintain  things  at  their 
proper  standard. 

The  jewelry  business  is  a  nice  business,  because  it  is  a 
clean  one;  the  goods  handled  are  pleasing  to  the  eye,  ad- 
mit of  handsome  window  decorations,  and  are  tempting 
to  possible  customers.  The  jeweler  has  one  great  foe  to 
cwnbat,  and  that  is  the  buying  of  more  goods  than  he 
can  profitably  handle.  A  furniture  dealer  can  only  get 
into  his  place  a  certain  amount  of  goods,  but  the  jeweler 
can  buy  in  thousands  of  dollars  worth  of  diamonds  and 
put  than  away  in  the  safe.  In  stocking  a  store,  and  in 
maintaining  such  a  stock,  the  writer  deems  it  advisable 
to  put  most  of  our  money  into  goods  which  have  the  most 
ready  sales,  and  for  which  there  are  the  most  calls,  and 

comparatiyely  little  compared  with 
the  Size  of  them.  Take  silyerware,  clocks,  and  cut  glass. 
What  a  stock  of  either  one  can  buy  for  what  a  few  loose 
dianMMids  will  cost.  Mind  you,  the  writer  believes  in  a 
JNBweler  carrying  expensive  goods,  and  selling  them  too 
Iwit  If  you  have  a  good  stock  of  other  goods,  like  watches' 
chams,  rings  and  card  jewelry,  you  will  have  the  goods 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


5 


oftenest  bought,  and  will  be  able  to  show  most  of  your 
callers  what  they  ask,  and  if  your  capital  is  limited  and 
precludes  your  carrying  much  of  a  selection  of  high- 
priced  gems,  your  customers  will  wait  while  you  get  them 
to  show.    The  danger  of  over-buying  is  one  which  the 
jeweler  should  try  and  safeguard  against.  Wholesalers 
are  all  fine  men,  and  are  willing  to  extend  liberal  terms 
of  credit  to  customers  of  whose  honesty  there  is  no  ques- 
tion, but  the  man  who  takes  the  long  time,  invariably 
pays  for  it,  either  in  loss  of  discount,  or  otherwise.  A 
tray  of  diamonds  would  stock  an  ordinary  jewelry  store 
with  plated  hollow  ware,  clocks,  chains  and  card  jewelry. 
The  wise  man  learns  how  to  limit  his  stock.    In  these 
days  of  mail  and  express  service,  there  is  no  need  of  car- 
rying stock  in  the  safe,  except  in  the  fall  of  the  year,  on 
some  lines  which  it  is  hard  to  get  just  when  you  want 
them.    Buy  what  you  need  for  immediate  use;  fill  in  as 
occasion  demands,  and  thus  keep  your  stock  fresh  and 
up-to-date.    It  is  no  sign  of  exceptional  business  ability 
to  buy  in  an  unusual  supply  of  goods  for  which  no  imme- 
diate need  exists.    Any  one  can  buy  goods  if  his  credit  is 
good,  but  it  takes  a  man  of  executive  ability  to  know 
when  to  refuse.    The  writer  does  not  mean  that  the  man 
who  always  treats  commercial  travelers  as  though  they 
were  bores  or  highwaymen  is  an  exceptionally  bright  bus- 
iness man.    There  is  a  happy  medium  between  reckless- 
ness and  extreme  carefulness  in  buying,  and  that  is  the 
path  we  should  try  to  walk  in.   If  we  need  goods  we 
must  have  them,  but  if  we  need  two  or  three  articles,  it  is 
not  necessary  to  buy  a  dozen  for  fear  that  the  traveling 
man  will  think  us  small.   The  traveHng  representative  is 
out  to  sell  goods,  but  he  feels  better  sadsfaction  over  the 
bills  he  sells  to  careful  buyers  than  the  larger  ones  bought 
by  careless  ones. 

iWe  should  learn  to  say  "no"  graciously  yet  firmly ;  gra- 
ciously, that  no  oflFence  can  be  taken ;  firmly,  that  our  in- 
tentions cannot  be  doubted.  The  traveling  man  is  one  of 
the  best  friends  the  retailer  has,  and  it  pays  to  cultivate 
him.   If  you  trust  to  his  judgment  on  some  things,  he 


6 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


will  not  let  you  go  astray.  Instances  have  been  told  me 
where  those  who  know  it  all  have  been  allowed  to  buy 
old,  out-of-date  goods. 

The  jeweler  labofs  under  one  disadvantage  which  other 
dealers  peiiiaps  do  not,  and  that  is  the  long  hours,  the 
loigth  of  time  it  takes  to  open  and  ck>se  the  store,  and 
the  way  he  ties  himself  to  his  business.   We  should  try 
and  develop  the  different  sides  of  man,  the  spiritual,  men- 
tal, physical  and  social.   Do  not  become  a  man  with  but 
one  idea.   Your  efforts  for  promoting  your  business  will 
count  for  more,  because  of  relaxation  and  exercise  in 
other  ways.   Working  in  one  line  becomes  monotonous. 
So  the  jeweler  should  endeavor  to  so  divide  his  time,  that 
he  can  occasionally  visit  the  theatre,  a  football  game,  a 
social  event,  and  feel  fresh  enough  on  Sunday  to  attend 
church.    Besides,  from  the  direct  benefits  derived  from 
attendance  at  these  different  affairs,  there  are  indirect 
benefits  which  will  help  improve  your  business.  The 
people  you  meet  in  this  way  all  have  more  or  less  occa- 
sion to  visit  a  jeweler's  establishment,  and  by  acquaint- 
ance with  you.  and  meeting  you  occasionally,  will  have 
you  in  mind  when  they  need  anything.    A  friend  of  mine 
one  time  stopped  in  the  store  and  showed  me  a  diamond 
ring  bought  at  another  store,  and  said  that  he  would  have 
ccrnie  to  see  us,  but  he  never  gave  it  a  thought  until  after 
he  had  made  the  purchase.    At  the  time  this  seemed 
rather  thin  to  me,  but  as  he  has  since  bought  two  dia- 
moad  rings  from  us,  besides  other  goods,  it  proves  to  me 
that  had  he  thought  of  the  the  first  time,  he  would  have 
made  that  purchase  from  us. 

This  merely  goes  to  illustrate  that  one  is  perhaps  los- 
ing sales  every  day,  by  keepiij^  himself  kxrked  in  his  store 
waiting  for  custcmiers,  while  his  competitors  are  keeping 
themselves  in  touch  witii  prospective  customers  by  at- 
tending the  different  affairs,  which  he  naturally  would 
were  they  empk>yed  by  another.  A  man  should  not  be 
too  hard  a  master  of  himself.  Manv  men  are  their  own 
worst  enemies,  and  many,  too,  are  their  own  taskmasters. 
It  is  not  necessarily  the  man  who  bustles  about  his  busi- 
ness who  is  the  best  business  man,  but  he  appears  busy  to 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


7 


the  onlooker.  We  should  always  be  busy,  especiaUy 
when  our  regular  callers  stop  in,  as  appearances  c<Mmt  for 
Tereardeal  We  should  also  preserve  a  httle  mdepend- 
en?e  in  regard  to  doing  work  too  quickly.  Sometimes  in 
trvTng  to  be  accommodating,  we  give  people  the  idea  that 
we  were  waiting  for  the  job  which  they  brought  in,  and 
Z  wr  ter  has  hoivd  the  rimark  made,  that  other  stores- 

ihere  the  job  had  been  <Jf ^d-f^to  do^^l^  eweler 
but  so  and  so  had  been  glad  to  get  it  to  do    A  jeweler 

in  addition  to  the  regular  <l«^<^i?^:}^;;^\^'f  ^^c'ess^^^ 
cess,  must  be  a  diplomat,  and  we  find  that  f  ^^^^^'^^^^^^ 
ipwelers  are  those  who  combine  this  quality  with  the  rest. 
The  1^1^  of^l^g  the  right  thing  at  the  right  time  ; 
I?tr2tog  s^c  rS  asl  joke  with  some  custoniers, 
^d  S^i^ting  the  desire  to  jest  with  others  ;  making 
ZcSsZ  whli  necessary  or  advisable  — sj-^ 
so  doine  when  our  dignity  demand  it.  All  ot  tlie  cimer 
^^Kns  and  coiSiitions  demand  that  tact  and  diplo- 
SacJTused,  and  he  who  best  understands  how  to  use 
it,  will  obtain  the  best  results. 

Let  us  therefore  resolve  that  our  business  is  the  best 
buSLs ;  Lt  we  would  not  be  in  any  other  bus^es^^^^^ 
we  could :  that  we  are  successful,  and  will  be  more  sue 
cessful;  that  we  will  use  all  comers  as  though  they  we^ 
our  onlv  customers,  and  we  depended  upon  them  sup- 
port, and  that  we  will  aim  high,  and  if  we  are  unable  to 
reach  the  heights  to  which  we  aspire,  we  will  have  the 
satisfaction  that  we  have  done  our  best. 

"  Honor  and  shame  from  no  condition  rise. 
Act  wdl  your  part,  there  all  the  honor  lies.** 


i_  EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


CHAPTER  II. 


STARTING  A  STORE   WITH   SMALL  CAPITAL. 

^      1"^  ^""'A^T  f  io  that  a  Fine  Showing  is 

Made  and  Only  SaloAk  Goods  an  Secunrf-Buy  Your 
First  Stock  with  Your  Own  Mon^,  tiin.  Save  Your 
Credit  for  Later  NacMMitka. 

MOST  young  men  are  ambitions,  and  desirous  of 
worldly  success  because  of  what  that  success 
will  brmg.   In  any  line  of  *>usiness  you  will  find 
that  the  employe  is  anxious  to  become  the  employer  It 
has  been  said  that  it  is  not  what  one  earns,  but  what  he 
saves,  which  will  make  a  man  wealthy.   And  it  has  also 
been  said  that  a  man  cannot  become  rich  while  workini? 
for  wages.    Of  course,  the  element  of  chance  enters  into 
every  transaction,  however  small    Many  engage  in  busi- 
ness without  success,  and  such  would  have  done  better 
to  have  remained  as  employes.    If  a  man  is  willing  to 
work  a  little  harder  for  himself  than  he^did  for  his  em- 
ployer; if  he  is  willing  to  make  haste  slowly,  then  he 
can  count  almost  surely  on  eventuallv  being  successful 
The  trouble  with  many  who  conteinplate  en^a^n^  in 
busmess  is  that  they  wish  to  carry  as  large  a  stock  and 
as  expensive  goods,  as  do  their  competitors  who  'have 
been  engaged  in  business  for  twenty  years  or  more 

Years  ago  a  young  man  starting  in  the  jewelry  busi- 
ness was  satisfied  to  begin  small,  and,  because  of  such 
jM^nning^  he  was  the  complete  master  of  his  business 
from  start  to  finish.  To  begin  business  under  a  crush- 
ing  load  of  mdebtedness,  which  constantly  erows 
heavier,  is,  to  say  the  least,  discouraging.  What  satis- 
fecbon  can  there  be  to  see  in  our  shovvlases  exne^Tv^ 

article  is  not  intended  to  tell  what  not  to  do,  but  how  to 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


9 


start  a  jewelry  business  with  a  limited  capital,  what 
goods  to  handle,  and  so  on. 

What  is  more  natural  than  that  a  young  man  em- 
ployed as  a  watchmaker,  whose  work  is  perfectly  satis- 
factory, and  whose  presence  in  the  store  is  an  added 
drawing  card  for  trade,  should  begin  to  think  about 
starting  in  business  for  himself?   He  can  do  the  same 
work  just  as  well  for  himself  as  for  another.   The  same 
customers  who  come  to  patronize  him  now  will  do  so 
when  he  is  in  business  for  himself.   He  knows  just 
what  his  employer  makes  through  the  sales  which  he 
(the  employe)  makes,  and  naturally  thinks  that  that 
profit  might  just  as  well  have  been  his  had  he  been  m 
business  for  himself.   All  this  is  true.   Every  man  has 
his  friends,  more  or  less,  according  as  he  makes  the  ef- 
fort to  be  agreeable.   These  friends  will  not  only  come 
themselves  to  trade,  bufr  will  do  their  best  to  encourage 
their  friends  to  come  to  see  you  for  their  jewelry  pur- 
chases.  Our  young  man  is  capable,  earnest  and  willing. 
He  has  cultivated  friendship,  and  saved  his  money,  until 
he  feds  that  he  has  enough  to  make  the  start.   Then,  he 
launches  forth  on  his  business  career,  which  may  be  one 
that  will  last  a  half-century.   The  jewelry  business  is  a 
peculiar  one,  in  that  while  few  obtain  wealth  through  its 
ccmduct,  yet  most  of  its  devotees  earn  a  comfortable  liv- 

The  young  man  who  has  $2,500  to  invest  in  opening 
up  a  jewelry  business  has  got  to  figure  things  down  very 
close,  in  order  to  obtain  nice  fixtures,  and  even  a  fair  as- 
sortment of  medium  priced  goods.  With  care,  however, 
one  can  buy,  with  such  an  amount,  a  comparatively  good 
stock  of  the  goods  for  which  there  is  the  most  call,  and 
the  writer  will  try  to  tell  how  to  do  it.  It  has  been  stated 
by  s(xne  trade  paper  writers  that  if  a  man  hais  $2,500 
he  can  buy  $5,000  worth  of  goods,  half  on  credit.  Sup- 
posing he  takes  advantage  of  such  generosity  on  the  part 
of  the  wholesaler,  in  what  position  does  he  place  him- 
self? Can  he  contract  other  bills  for  desirable  goods, 
which  he  has  need  of,  if  one-half  of  his  store  is  owned 


10 


EVANS'S  ESS  A  YS, 


by  others  than  hlmsdf  ?  A  young  man  opening  up  in 
business  cannot  foresee  what  kind  of  goods  he  will  have 
sale  for.  Perhaps  the  very  things  he  has  bought  will 
Unger  m  his  cases,  whik  he  must  needs  order  other 
goods,  few  whidi  there  is  demand.  He  is  in  the  same 
position  as  the  retaUer  in  buying  goods  for  holiday  trade 
three  or  four  mondis  ahead  of  time.  He  buys  an  aver- 
age stodc,  that  is  he  buys  a  little  of  everything,  replen- 
ishuig  his  entire  stodk,  getting  ready  for  holiday  busi- 
ness. Perhaps  the  demand  will  be  along  two  or  three 
particular  Imes,  which  he  must  order  and  reorder,  while 
.  f^^li'^^  ^  undisturbed  in  their  several  places  in 

h  ^      ^  ^f^^'  P'***^^^^         ^^Pital  back  of 

him,  can  stand  this.  Not  so,  however,  the  young  man 
who,  just  startmg  m  business,  has  already  reached  the 
tort  of  his  credit.   Better  begin  in  a  small  way.  The 

SIJ??!'?^''  9^i."^  anything.-  This  is  an 
nnpossibihty  m  conducting  a  jewelry  business,  but  it  is 
certainly  a  great  satisfacticm  to  be  able  to  have  a  clean 
slate  occasionally,  rather  than  never  to  draw  a  free 
Meath. 

Our  young  man  is  going  to  own  his  own  store  right 
frcmi  the  start  He  does  not  intend  to  start  in  with  his 
buaness  receipt  mortgaged.  What  goods  can  he  carry 
and  what  must  he  temporarily  leave  out  of  his  stock 
ii'irst,  he  must  arrange  his  show  room.  Make  it  com- 
larativdy  small.  This  can  be  done  by  erecting  a  par- 
tition,  dividing  the  show  room  from  the  work  room. 
lUis  partition  can  be  moved  further  back,  or  removed 
entirely,  as  the  business  grows.  It  is  better  to  have  a 
small  store,  well  filled,  than  to  have  a  large,  roomy  store 
witti  very  little  in  it.  It  is  better  to  have  a  cosv,  cheerful 
lookmg  store,  than  a  large,  chilly,  empty  place.  Let  us 
allow  $300  for  fixtures.  With  this  amount  we  can  pro- 
cure say,  two  wall  cases;  one  for  silverware,  and  one  for 
docks,  and  three  or  four  counter  cases,  with  tables,  a 
watch  rack,  watchmaker's  bench,  trays,  and  other  neces- 
sary fixtures,  such  as  mirrors,  and  so  on.    I  would  ad- 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


tl 


vise  getting  good  fixtures,  if  necessary  getting  one  less 
show  case. 

Having  purchased  our  fixtures  we  come  to  the  stock. 
What  goods  shall  we  carry?  Diamonds  are  out  of  the 
question,  for  should  we  invest  our  little  all  we  could  pro- 
cure only  a  fair  assortment.  Watches  are  good  stock 
at  any  time  of  year,  and  the  writer  has  appropriated 
$500  for  the  watch  stock,  and  while  with  this  amount  it 
will  be  impossiUe  to  carry  any  expensive  watches,  still 
one  can  make  a  fair  showing.  We  will  have  twelve 
ladies'  gold  filled  watches,  with  Waltham  or  Elgin  move- 
ments, and  the  same  number  of  gents'  gold  filled  cases 
with  the  same  movements;  six  ladies'  silver  watches, 
three  gentlemen's  silver  watches,  six  gentlemen's  nickel 
watches,  and  two  or  three  gold  watidies  for  ladies,  all 
complete  with  movements. 

This  can  be  done  with  the  amount  appropriated,  and  will 
make  a  good  showing.  Other  more  expensive  goods  can 
be  obtained  at  slight  effort,  and  very  promptly,  and  any 
one  who  really  wishes  to  trade  with  you  will  give  you  a 
chance  to  send  and  get  the  goods. 

We  will  appropriate  $350  for  rings,  because  watches 
and  rings  are  the  best  stocks  a  jeweler  has,  for,  although 
styles  may  change  in  these  goods  as  in  other  lines,  yet 
there  is  never  a  watch  or  ring  made  but  what  some  one 
will  like  it  and  buy  it.  This  amount  I  would  divide  as 
follows:  $100  for  ladies'  stone  and  signet  rings ;  $100  for 
men's  stone  and  signet  rings;  $25  for  baby  rings;  $25 
for  boys'  rings ;  $50  for  plain  rings ;  $25  for  chased 
rings,  and  $25  for  little  girls'  rings.  This  will  give  a 
fair  assortment  of  these  goods,  and  will  make  quite  a 
good  display. 

Next  we  will  take  clocks.  One  hundred  and  fifty  dol- 
lars spent  in  clocks  will  make  an  elegant  display.  Twelve 
parlor  clocks,  enameled  wood,  different  styles,  can  be  ob- 
tained for  $48.  One  dozen  gilt,  different  sizes,  ranging 
in  price  from  $1  to  $3  each  can  be  bought  for  $24.  One 
dozen  kitchen  clocks  will  cost  $18.   Two  dozen  assorted 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


sets,  $25 ;  four  cakrb^ets  $,o  ,i  "k P""'' 
three  bonbon  dishes.  $So^£'butter  H-' 

fruit  bfwls:$:o^^T;^'||,^^^^ 

vidual  cost  of  thel  ^t^*  mentioning  the  indi- 

spoons,  time  cold  me  J  fc^.^.,  "P"""*'  s^'ad 
forks,  lars-e  size   Zi  cold  meat 

six  sets^'^rit^kn'iV  "  t!^'  ^P""-' 

handles ;  three  dozen  ml^t^v  -  '^'^  'a"ves,  plain 

the  san,;  qi.ant  des  of  fnrir.  ""T''  ^""^  ^nd 

and  two  doze"nt"cv  ttliz^tatsp^^^^  Slt'"' 
de^rt  spoons  and"  one  dozen  JicW^^^' 

Of  ladies'  chains  $6o  will  buy  a  fair  as^rf«u«,» 
bering  twenty-four  chains,  ranLg  ;„  ^T^f' 

th^-f$/:a5^,  :r$reat%ref  at  fc^  ^-^^ 
Gentlemen's  chains  must,  of  course  be  carri^  i„  h^K 
single  vest  chains  and  Dickens  ch.  L    For  Si  sS^ 

Zr^XTr  ^7^^^'"^"  expend  as'S 

ft]^"  chains  at  $1.50  each,  three  at  $2.50  each. 

SJ? aTi^^h"  ''-'^  atVSaJd 

m^^""  $75  for  our  brooch  stock  buying  nl 

S  'nS^^^^       Customers  who\TfoIid" 

g^^^acs  are  not  always  amon^:  a  new  store's  first 
customers.  A  half  dozen  dainty  little  brooches  in  solid 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


13 


gold  will  be  enough  to  display  a  jeweler's  good  taste, 
and  customers  who  really  wish  to  trade  with  you  will 
wait  for  you  to  get  them  a  selection  package  of  the  goods 
in  which  they  are  particularly  interested.  Thirty-five 
dollars  of  our  brooch  appropriation  we  will  put  into  solid 
gold;  $35  into  gold  hlled  brooches,  and  $5  into  silver 
ones. 

In  chatelaine  pins  $35  will  buy  a  fair  assortment;  $25 
being  spent  for  gold  filled  ones,  and  $10  Itor  silver  ones. 
Neck  chains  and  lockets  have  come  to  be  one  of  the  jew- 
eler's most  profitable  stocks,  and  we  must  have  a  fair  line 
of  each.  Accordingly  we  will  spend  $40  for  neck  chains 
and  $50  for  lockets,  keeping  almost  entirely  to  gold  filled 
ones.  With  this  expenditure  we  can  have  about  two 
dozen  neck  chains  and  about  three  dozen  lockets.  This 
will  offer  the  intending  purchaser  a  fair  selection. 

Our  cuflF  button  stock  will  take  $75  more  of  our 
money,  which  we  will  spend  as  follows :  We  will  buy 
three  dozen  gold  filled  buttons,  at  an  average  cost  of  $12 
per  dozen;  one  dozen  gold  buttons,  at  ah  average  cost 
of  $2.50  per  pair;  one  dozen  sterling  silver  buttons,  $6, 
and  one  dozen  plated  buttons  at  $3  per  dozen. 

Our  scarf  pin  stock  will  consist  of  gold,  gold  filled  and 
silver,  divid^  as  follows:  $50  expended  in  gold  stick 
pins,  which  will  buy  three  dozen  of  them  at  prices  rang- 
ing from  75  cents  to  $3 ;  $ao  in  gold  filled  stick  pins  will 
buy  about  four  dozen  good  ones,  and  the  remaining  $5 
will  buy  about  two  dozen  assorted  silver^ ones. 

Our  bracelet  stock  will  take  $50,  and  our  fobs  $50 
more.  Our  hat  pins  will  cost  $25  more.  It  is  not  nec- 
essary to  specify  how  to  expend  these  amounts,  but  gold 
filled  or  plated  goods  will  sell  the  most  readily. 

For  our  sterling  silverware  department  we  will  ex- 
pend $100,  as  follows:  two  cold  meat  forks,  three  dozen 
teaspoons,  one  set  forks,  one  set  kmves,  two  cream  la- 
dles, five  bonbon  spoons,  two  jelly  spoons,  two  pie 
servers,  two  berry  spoons,  two  .crravy  ladles,  three  olive 
spoons,  three  olive  forks,  one  set  each  of  berry  forks, 
oyster  forks,  fruit  knives  and  coffee  spoons.  This  is 
enough  variety  to  start  in  with.   A  small  assortment  of 


EVANS'S  ESS  A  VS. 


brushes,  combs  and  mirrors,  and  other  ^oods  of  this 
dass,  in  silver  and  silver  plate,  will  take  an  even  $ioo 
Properly  expended  a  respectable  showing  can  be  made 
with  this  amocmt 

A  two  dozen  assortment  of  medium  priced  fountain 
pens  can  be  purchased  for  $25,  and  will  be  found  to  be 
one  of  the  best  stocks  to  handle,  and  one  which  it  is  pos- 
sible to  turn  over  often. 

Collar  buttons  must  be  worn  by  all,  Tiowever  rich  or 
poor,  young  or  old.  Ten  dollars  will  buy  a  fair  supply 
or  plated  generally  bought  in  gold  filled 

Jewelry  cases  are  necessary  in  order  to  pass  out  the 
articles  of  various  kinds  which  we  have  for  sale  The 
proper  display  of  an  article  in  a  case  buUt  to  show  off  its 
beauties  to  the  best  possible  advantage  will  make  many 
a  sale  which  would  otherwise  be  lost.    In  opening  a 
store  be  sure  to  have  a  fair  stock  of  these  useful  and 
necessary  articles,  which,  while  given  away,  yet  brin^ 
many  dollars   to  our  till.    For  the   purchase  of  the^ 
goods  the  writer  has  appropriated  fifty  dollars,  and  with 
which  the  following  supplies  can  be  bought :  one  dozen 
U  size  velvet  watch  cases,  and  one  dozet^^ach  of  the  fol- 
lowing velvet  cases:    For  i6s  watches,  cuff  buttons, 
scarf  pins,  and  brooches,  and  two  dozen  velvet  cases  for 
rings.    In  paper  boxes  the  foUowing  can  Be  bought:  one 
gross  ring  boxes,  two  gross  nest  boxes,  one-half  gross 
each  for  thimbles,  scarf  pins,  singk  tea,  six  teas,  d^ert 
spoons,  table  spoons,  one-quarter  gross  hat  pin  boxes, 
one  ream  tissue,  and  a  box  of  rubber  bands. 

n.Pnf''^n ^u'  *e  establish- 

foUowsT^^^"'  ^P^"^  ^« 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS.  15 


Fixtures,  $300;  watches,  $500;  rings,  $350; 
gentlemen's  chains,  $75 ;  silver  plated 
hollow  ware,  $100;  silver  plated  flat 
ware,  $100   $ii425  00 

Ladies'  chains,  $60;  brooches,  $75;  chate- 
laine pins,  $35   170  00 

Neck  chains,  $50;  lockets,  $50;  cuff  buttons, 

$75    i6s  00 

Scarf  pins,  $75;  bracelets,  $50;  fobs,  $50. . .       I75  <» 

Hat  pins,  $25;  sterling  silverware,  $100; 

clocks,  $150    275  oc 

Fountain  pens,  $25;  brushes,  combs,  mirrors, 

etc.,  $100    125  00 

Collar  buttons,  $10;  jewelry  cases,  $50;  sign, 

$15;    v  :  •      75  00 

Watch  material,  jewelry  material,  jobbing 

stones,  etc    90  00 


$2,500  00 

Criticism  might  be  made  that  the  stock  will  be  almost 
entirely  of  cheap  goods,  but  the  writer  can  assure  any 
new  seeker  for  trade,  that  people  will  patronize  him  the 
first  time  for  some  inexpensive  article.  Another  thing, 
by  buying  goods  in  gold  filled  you  obtain  a  good  show 
of  reliable  goods,  which  are  new  and  up-to-date.  If, 
however,  you  have  bought  some  goods  which  fail  to 
meet  with  popular  approval,  your  loss  is  not  so  great, 
nor  do  you  have  to  leave  a  large  amount  of  capital  in- 
vested. As  will  be  seen,  we  have  bouglit  a  stock  for  the 
amount  of  cash  which  we  have  on  hand.  If  it  is  neces- 
sary to  buy  other  goods  we  will  have  a  little  cash  coming 
in  from  the  sale  of  some  of  the  artkles  already  bought, 
and,  then  again,  we  can  obtain  if  necessary  goods  called 
for  and  not  in  stock,  on  memorandum,  or  on  credit. 

If,  however,  a  man  had  utilized  his  limit  of  credit  in 
fitting  out  his  store,*  he  would  find  himself  to  be  under 
the  same  disadvantage  regarding  goods  called  for  and 
which  he  has  not  in  stock,  and     does  not  know  where 


i6 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


to  turn  to  get  them.  Creditors  never  want  their  money 
when  they  are  selling  goods,  but  they  at  other  times. 
Another  thing  about  buying  low  priced  goods :  it  affords 
one  the  opportunity  to  find  out  in  which  direction  his 
trade  tends.  Perhaps  he  will  have  an  entirely  diflferent 
class  of  trade  from  what  the  store  had  where  he  was  pre- 
viously employed. 

To  the  young  man  alxnit  to  engage  in  business,  my 
advice  would  be  to  consider  well  the  step  before  he  takes 
it  When  you  start  in,  be  your  own  boss.  Do  not  let 
any  jobber  through  friendliness  (?)  force  you  in  beyond 
your  depth.  It  does  not  require  ability  to  buy  goods, 
but  it  does  require  ability  to  say  "No,"  as  occasion  re- 
quires. The  idea  of  buying  goods  is  to  sell  them  at  a 
profit,  not  merely  to  buy  what  appears  to  be  pretty.  To 
buy  rose  finished  goods  when  your  trade  prefers  bright 
finish  is  nonsensical.  In  buying  your  goods  be  careful 
not  to  buy  any  goods  which  are  too  pronounced  in  style. 

Confine  your  purchases  to  a  few  good  houses  with 
whom  you  have  become  acquainted  in  your  previous  po- 
sition. They  will  take  care  of  you  and  will  be  glad  to 
furnish  you  witli  necessary  goods  on  memorandum. 
This,  in  itself,  is  worth  considerable.  The  ability  to 
send  a  request  for  a  selection  package  and  receive  it 
back  as  soon  as  the  express  wtU  bring  Tt,  is  certainly 
gratifying.  Many  a  sale  is  made  through  memorandum 
goods,  as  customers  often  feel  that  they  are  seeing  some- 
thing which  is  entirely  new. 

To  sum  it  all  up,  get  a  fair  location,  where  the  rent  is 
not  excessive.  It  is  not  necessary  to  get  a  store  on  the 
main  street  Your  stock  may  fit  in  better  in  some  other 
location.  We  all  want  "lookers"  and  buyers,  but  it  is 
poor  satisfaction  to  have  a  continual  run  of  people,  all 
asking  for  goods  winch  you  have  not  got  in  stock.  Bet- 
ter have  your  store  located  where  you  can  grow  up  with 
your  trade.  The  majority  of  pec^le  improve  their  con-, 
ditions  every  year  and  have  more  money  to  spend  for 
jewelry.  Cultivating  this  class  of  people  will  prove  a 
wmning  way. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


17 


CHAPTER  III. 


TH£  R£PAIRINQ  DSPARTMBNT 

The  Repair  Department  of  a  Retail  Store  Most  Important, 
and.  Properly  Handled,  Very  Profitable— Some  Rules 
For  Good  Management. 

WHATEVER  the  size  stock  a  jewelry  store  may 
carry,  it  must  have  its  repair  department,  thor- 
oug^y  organized,  with  the  different  material 
systematically  arranged.  Of  course,  the  mammoth  es- 
tablishments of  the  large  cities  consider  the  repairing 
d^)artment  a  secondary  consideration,  but  to  the  aver- 
age jeweler  the  repairing  department  is  the  mainstay  of 
the  business.  In  the  smaller  towns,  the  jewder^s  is  re- 
garded as  a  general  repair  shop,  and  he  is  brought  a 
great  variety  of  articles  for  his  attention.  He  is  expected 
to  be  able  to  repair  a  chronograph  or  mend  a  broken 
washing  machine.  It  is  not  my  intention  to  write  an  ar- 
ticle which  will  apply  to  either  of  the  above,  but  strike 
the  happy  medium  of  the  majority  class.  These  are  the 
jewelers  of  the  larger  towns  and  the  small  cities  through- 
out the  land. 

There  are  several  reasons  why  it  pays  to  push  the  re- 
pair department.  First,  it  appeals  to  every  one  who 
owns  a  watch,  clock,  or  jewelry  of  any  description,  which 
needs  the  attention  of  the  jeweler  at  various  times.  By 
conducting  this  department,  we  become  acquainted  with 
prospective  customers  for  our  goods,  whom  we  might 
not  meet  in  any  other  way.  In  a  great  many  stores,  they 
do  not  handle  their  repairing  in  a  systematic  way,  but 
-  allow  work  to  lie  around  for  days,  or  even  weeks,  be- 
fore attending  to  it.  Such  treatment  means  that  the  cus- 
tomer will  not  come  again.  If  the  work  is  well  done  and 
promptly  done  it  means  further  business  with  the  same 
people. 


i8 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS, 


My  second  reason  for  conducting  this  dq>artinent  is, 
there  is  good  money  in  it.  The  material  is  comparatively 
inexpensive,  and  the  principal  cost  is  the  time  expended. 
There  is  no  branch  of  the  business  which  pays  as  well 
as  a  good  repair  department,  under  a  competent  man 
who  understands  his  business. 

There  are  several  general  principles  which  are  neces- 
sary for  a  successful  conducting  of  this  department. 

First,  the  work  must  be  well  done.  We  will  do  all  the 
work  it  is  possible  for  us  to  do  right  in  our  own  shop, 
but  work  which  we  are  not  competent  to  do  we  will  send 
away  to  houses  which  make  a  specialty  of  difficult  work. 
If  it  is  necessary  to  send  a  job  away,  we  will  tell  the  cus- 
tomer so,  frankly,  and  request  the  necessary  time  to  send 
it  away  and  get  it  back  again,  and  explain  that  a  more 
satisfactory  job  will  be  the  result.  People  respect  you 
more  for  telling  the  truth  than  they  would  to  have  you 
say  you  will  do  it  yourself,  and  then  have  to  put  them 
off  from  day  to  day  when  they  call  after  it. 

Second,  have  the  work  done  promptly.  Do  not  prom- 
ise too  many  "to-day"  jobs.  Some  times  a  lot  of  these 
accumulate,  and  the  work  not  going  as  nicely  as  other 
days,  a  lot  of  disappointed  customers  is  the  result.  Make 
it  a  rule  to  allow  several  days  to  do  a  job  but  do  not  wait 
till  that  (lay  to  do  it.  Keep  the  work  caught  up  and 
avoid  making  excuses  and  acquiring  the  habit  of  prevari- 
cation. 

Third,  on  all  kinds  of  work,  as  far  as  possible  estabUsh 
a  price,  so  that  each  one  in  the  store  will  give  the  same 
price,  and  the  same  price  for  the  same  kind  of  work  will 
be  given  the  customer  each  time.  On  work  where  it  is 
almost  impossible  to  quote  a  price  at  once,  if  necessary, 
have  die  customer  leave  it  long  enough  for  you  to  make 
the  necessary  examination  and  estimating,  so  that  you 
can  tell  them  what  it  will  cost  It  is  a  mistake  to  give 
people  the  idea  that  a  job,  either  repair  or  new,  will  cost 
only  a  nominal  amount  It  is  hard  work  to  adjust  our 
ideas  of  nmninal  charge  to  theirs.  It  is  better  to  have 
a  distinct  understanding  of  the  price  to  be  charged,  and 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS.  19 


let  them  take  it  if  they  do  not  want  to  leave  it.  Cus-* 
tomers  demand  good  work  and  should  pay  for  it. 

Fourth,  do  not  do  cheap  work.  People  remember  the 
quality  of  a  job  long  after  they  have  forgotten  the  price. 
Never  soft  solder  an  article  which  should  be  hard  sol- 
dered. It  is  not  satisfactory  to  you  or  them.  People 
whose  trade  is  worth  having  are  not  looking  for  the 
"cheapest  place  in  town"  to  have  their  watches  and  jew- 
elry repaired  or  having  their  diamonds  remounted.  An- 
other f>hase  of  the  question  overlooked  by  the  cheap 
watch  repair  man  is  the  additional  number  of  watches 
which  he  must  "fix"  in  order  to  come  out  even,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  guarantees  to  be  made  good. 

Fifth,  be  thorough  in  your  work.  A  job  well  done 
will  stay  done.  If  you  are  a  particular  workman,  you 
will  get  lots  of  work  sent  you  which  other  repairers 
imagme  they  have  fixed.  How  pleasant  it  is  to  have  a 
customer  refer  a  friend  to  you,  with  the  remark  that  "if 
he  cannot  fix  your  watch  no  one  can" !  In  all  cases 
where  work  is  brought  you  which  has  been  in  other  shops 
without  satisfaction,  make  a  special  effort  to  please,  as 
you  owe  it  to  your  customer  and  yourself :  to  your  cus- 
tomer for  recommending  you  and  to  yourself  to  sustain 
the  reputation  given  you.  If  you  can  put  a  watch  in  first- 
class  shape  which  has  failed  to  perform  properly,  the 
owner  will  speak  of  it  to  all  of  his  friends  and  ac- 
quaintances. 


20  EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


CHAPTER  IV. 


SYSTEM  IN  HANDLING  REPAIR  WORK. 

Why  a  Bywtm  is  NcccsHory  and  What  Fonn  tfiis  Should 
Take— Don't  Take  Anjbod/e  Word  about  the  Condition 
of  a  Broken  Article— Examine  it  in  the  Customec^t 
Preaence-^eep  as  Complete  Records  as  Possible. 

WHEN  we  stop  to  consider  the  number  of  arti- 
cles of  different  kinds  which  a  jeweler  handles 
during  the  course  of  a  year's  business,  it  ap- 
pears ^at  a  system  is  necessary,  rigidly  enforced, 
properly  to  take  care  of  these  jobs.  Think  of  the 
watches,  clocks,  rings,  pins,  spectacles,  etc.,  left  with 
the  retail  jeweler  during  a  single  week;  of  how  each  ar- 
ticle, though  its  intrinsic  worth  is  infinitesimal,  yet  is  val- 
uable to  the  owner  thereof  to  an  extent  only  discover- 
able when  it  is  lost.  In  the  course  of  business  occa- 
sionally something  may  be  lost,  but  a  system  will  go  a 
long  way  towards  making  such  an  event  impossible. 
Then,  too,  repair  work  is  left  in  different  quantities  on 
different  days,  varying  with  the  weather.  Some  people 
always  want  their  work  in  a  hurry,  and  to  hold  their 
custom  it  is  necessary  to  accommodate  them,  but  we  should 
be  careful  not  to  train  all  of  our  customers  the  same  way. 
There  is  a  limit  to  human  capacity,  and  if  you  get  custo- 
mers in  the  habit  of  expecting  work  to  be  ready  for  them 
when  they  get  through  with  their  shopping,  you  will  en- 
counter difficulties  over  broken  promises.  Your  jeweler 
may  have  work  enough  already  laid  out  ahead  of  him  to 
keep  him  going  for  several  days,  all  of  which  is  wanted 
"at  once."  There  are  instances  in  the  writer's  knowl- 
edge where  good  workmen  have  made  a  change  through 
no  other  reason  than  the  fact  that  they  were  rushed 
continuously.  All  ordinary  wofk,  wherever  possible* 
should  not  be  promised  in  less  than  three  or  four  days. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


21 


Under  such  an  arrangement,  if  you  have  an  accident  and 
break  a  stone  which  it  is  necessary  to  send  for,  you  can 
receive  it  back  before  it  is  called  for.  Of  course,  we  do 
not  expect  accidents  to  happen,  but  sometimes  th^  do. 
If  it  is  necessary  to  send  a  job  away,  say  so  to  the  cus- 
tomer, and  ofatein  the  neces^uy  time  in  which  to  do  so. 

Cmnplete  records  should  be  kept  of  all  repairs,  viz.: 
Name  o[  owner,  article  left,  who  repaired  by,  repairs 
made,  and  charges.  Each  envelope  or  tag  should  be 
numbered  with  die  serial  number  of  the  job,  and  should 
be  filed  away  alphabetically.  In  many  stores,  where 
there  is  a  lot  of  this  work  handled,  and  where  several 
drawers  are  necessary  for  the  jewelry  work,  the  work 
is  divided  among  them  as  follows,  each  drawer  being  al- 
phabetically arranged:  One  drawer  will  contain  all 
work  left  within  a  wedc;  another,  jobs  left  upwards  of 
one  week,  and  less  than  a  year;  and  a  third  drawer  all 
work  left  more  than  a  year.  Such  subdivision  may  seem 
unnecessary,  but  it  does  away  with  a  lot  of  handling  of 
old  envelopes  each  time  a  job  is  called  for.  The  major- 
ity of  jewelry,  c^tical  and  engraving  jobs,  are  called  for 
promptly,  and  only  a  small  proportion  are  left  for  an 
indefinite  time.  In  our  watch  repairing  departmjent, 
notice  should  be  taken  of  all  watches  left  over  a  month, 
and  a  postal  card  or  letter  should  be  sent  to  the  customer, 
notifying  him  that  the  watch  is  ready  for  delivery,  and 
that  you  would  like  to  have  it  called  for  promptly.  This 
will  generally  bring  the  desired  results.  This  procedure 
is  especially  necessary  when  the  customer  is  carrying 
one  of  your  watches,  while  his  is  being  repaired.  It  is 
better  for  the  jeweler  to  have  work  called  for  promptly, 
as  the  longer  a  watch  or  clock  is  left,  the  more  chance 
there  is  that  other  work  (and  for  which  no  charge  can 
be  made)  may  be  necessary.  This  applies  more  espec 
ially  to  mainsprings. 

Another  matter  over  which  we  should  exercise  the 
utmost  care  is  the  receiving  of  repairs  without  examina- 
tion, and  accepting  the  customer's  statements  regarding 
the  condition  of  the  article  or  articles  left  and  the  repairs 


22 


EVANS'S  ESS  A  YS 


which  he  deems  necessary.  Take,  for  instance,  the  cus- 
tomer rushing  in  with  a  watch  which  he  says  needs  clean- 
ing, and  asking  you  what  the  charge  will  be  for  cleaning. 
This  sounds  very  reasonable,  and  oftentimes  the  jevveler 
will  name  his  charge  and  allow  the  customer  to  depart 
with  the  amount  of  the  charge  firmly  fixed  in  his  mind. 
Better  have  him  wait  "just  a  minute,"  while  you  make  a 
quick  examination,  and  perhaps  you  will  find  that,  just 
as  the  customer  says,  it  "needs  cleaning,"  hut.  also,  that 
it  needs,  more  than  it  needs  cleaning,  a  new  balance  staff, 
a  pivot  or  a  jewel.  Having  a  distinct  knowledge  of  its 
condition,  you  can  quote  a  price  accordingly,  thus  saving 
future  arguments  regarding  charges. 

So,  too,  with  jewelry  brought  in  envelopes  or  handed 
you  on  the  street,  with  the  statement  that  the  stone  needs 
resetting,  and  giving  the  impression  that  all  the  necessary 
parts  are  therein.  Better  look  at  the  contents  of  the  en- 
velope while  the  customer  is  right  there,  as  the  next  day 
wUl  be  too  late.  The  writer  does  not  believe  that  "all 
men  are  liars,"  but  all  are  liable  to  mistakes,  and  the 
jeweler  cannot  afford  to  pay  for  any  mistakes  but  his 
own.  If  a  stone  is  chipped  or  missing  from  a  ring  or 
brooch  brought  in  for  repairs;  if  a  lense  in  a  pair  of  spec- 
tacles is  likewise  damaged,  call  the  customer's  attentiwi 
to  the  fact,  and  thus  obviate  complaints  ordinarily  made. 
Cultivate  the  habit  of  observatkm.  Look  for  defects  in 
articles,  not  in  persons.  There  are  some  in  both,  but  it 
is  the  first  only  which  it  pays  to  look  for. 

Keep  the  most  complete  reccMxIs  of  repairs  whidi  you 
can.  You  will  find  this  to  be  your  protection  from  im- 
position regarding  guarantees  and  false  claims  regarding 
watches  and  jewelry  said  to  have  been  left  If  you  talk 
records  to  some  of  these  people  and  tell  them  to  call  in 
again  about  the  work  which  they  claim  to  have  left,  and 
assure  them  if  it  was  left  you  have  it  on  your  books,  you 
will  find  that  they  do  not  call  again.  If  you  make  a  busi- 
ness of  calling  for  clocks  to  repair,  keep  a  memorandum, 
so  that  you  will  remember  to  call  the  day  specified  and 
return  it  the  same  way. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


23 


CHAPTER  V. 


TH£  ENGRAVING  DEPARTMENT. 

How  Engraving  is  Instrumental  in  Influencing  Sale»— 
Don't  be  too  Generous  with  Offers  of  Free  Engraving- 
Combination  witii  Other  Jewelers  in  Town  will  Tend 
to  Limit  Gratuity  Work. 

THE  jewelry  store,  while  not  a  department  store, 
has  its  several  departments,  each  of  which  plays 
a  part  more  or  less  important,  in  making  the 
business  a  success.  It  is  my  intention  to  speak  about 
the  engraving  department  in  this  article.  This  branch 
is,  to  my  mind,  the  most  important  in  influencing  sales. 
All  readers  are  familiar  with  the  ease  with  whidi  some 
sales  are  made,  by  making  mention  of  the  fact  that  "we 
will  engrave  it  for  you  free  of  charge;"  also  of  the 
many  sales  which  would  be  lost  otherwise.  In  some 
cities  the  bulk  of  trade  on  articles  which  have  been  en- 
graved naturally  falls  to  the  man  who  turns  out  the  best 
job  of  engraving.  So,  we  wfll  find  some  stores  selling 
most  of  the  wedding  presents  of  silverware,  and  not 
selling  an  unusual  amount  of  anything  else,  which  shows 
that  their  engraving  is  instrumental  in  effecting  these 
increased  sales. 

Our  engraving  therefore  is  a  valuable  asset  of  the  busi- 
ness, and  should  be  carefully  fostered  and  helped.  We 
should  begin  a  campaign  of  education  regarding  the 
value  of  engraving.  A  great  many  customers  are  un- 
familiar with  the  length  of  time  it  takes  to  engrave  an  ar- 
ticle, and  do  not  realize  that  their  demands  are  excessive, 
when  they  leave  their  order  for  free  engraving.  The 
trade  generally  should  adopt  some  rules  r^rding  die 
amount  of  free  engraving  to  include  with  different  arti- 
cles, and  also  what  charges  to  be  made  for  the  same  en- 


U  EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


graving  on  articles  brought  in  which  have  been  pur- 
chased elsewhere.    Customers  buying  a  set  of  plated  tea- 
spoons, which  pay  the  jeweler  fifty  cents  profit,  may  re- 
quest engraving  to  be  put  on  them  which  at  ordinary 
rates  would  cost  £eventy-five  cents  to  one  dollar.  The 
jeweler  (particularly  he  who  does  his  own  work,  or  has 
it  done  by  one  of  his  own  staflF)  may  consent  to  do  this 
excess  engraving  through  fear  that  having  made  the  sale, 
it  will  be  lost  should  he  refuse.   This  does  not  neces- 
sarily follow,  because  all  people  are  not  as  unreasonaUe 
as  they  seem,  and  make  such  requests  through  ignorance 
of  the  time  it  takes  to  do  such  work.   We  have  even  met 
those  who  have  the  impression  that  the  woik  is  done  with 
a  stamp  or  stencil,  and  have  the  idea  that  it  is  but  the 
work  of  five  minutes  to  engrave  a  half-dozen  spoons. 
This  is  the  jeweler's  opportunity  and  his  duty  to  give  the 
customer  a  little  instruction  in  the  art  of  engraving,  and 
the  cases  are  few  indeed  when  a  sale  will  be  lost  by  limit- 
ing the  engraving.   If  you  willingly  consent  to  do  an  tin- 
reasonable  amount  of  engraving,  the  customer  will  not 
know  that  he  is  recehring  anything  extra,  but  will  think 
that  he  has  merely  received  what  it  is  the  custom  of  the 
store  to  allow  in  this  line.    If  you  allow  a  customer  to 
have  "Father  and  Mother  to  Fritzy,  Christmas,  1907." 
engraved  free  on  a  $1  teaspoon,  what  can  you  charge  him 
for  engraving  the  same  amount  in  the  cap  of  a  watch, 
which  he  has  bought  elsewhere,  and  brings  to  you  to  en- 
grave because  he  likes  your  style?    People  should  under- 
stand that  there  is  a  value  to  such  work,  and  that  if  it  is 
given  free,  it  is  no  sign  that  it  does  not  cost  money.  The 
store  which  sends  out  its  engraving  is  more  careful  in 
the  matter  of  allowance  in  such  matters.    When  you  stop 
to  figure  so  much  a  letter,  you  can  appreciate  this  fact. 
Another  thing,  it  is  a  bad  thing  to  educate  people  to  ex- 
pect so  much  in  the  line  of  engraving,  because  as  the  holi- 
day season  approaches,  with  its  crush  of  such  work,  it 
throws  a  heavy  burden  upon  your  engraver,  and  if  you 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


allow  early  buyers  to  demand  so  much  in  the  way  of  en- 
graving, thus  appropriating  your  engraver's  time,  you  will 
lose  more  in  the  end  by  being  unable  to  accommodate 
those  whose  purchase  of  single  articles  will  far  and  away 
outvalue  the  purchases  of  sets  of  articles  demanding  so 
much  engraving.  Try  the  plan  this  holiday  time  of  lim- 
iting your  engraving,  especially  of  silverware.  Suppose 
that  you  do  lose  a  half-dozen  sales  of  this  kind.  Is  it  not 
better  to  have  your  man  ready  to  engrave  a  monogram 
on  a  fifty  dollar  watch,  or  inside  a  diamond  ring,  than  to 
have  to  put  off  such  customers  for  a  day  or  two,  because 
of  work  promised  ahead.  Then,  too,  during  holiday 
times  your  engraver  may  be  of  more  value  selling  goods, 
and  you  do  not  want  to  crowd  him  too  much. 

Of  course,  as  one  jeweler  wrote  to  me,  ccMnpetition  has 
a  great  deal  to  do  with  custom,  but  if  one  jeweler  adopts 
the  plan  of  limiting  the  amount  of  free  engraving,  and 
talks  it  to  his  competitors,  he  will  find  they  are  just  as 
willing  to  adopt  such  a  measure  as  he  is.   The  optical 
business  is  an  instance  of  how  conversation  and  trade 
papers  can  assist  in  the  adopting  of  an  unwritten  code  of 
ethics,  and  where  each  one  has  beei  made  to  see  that  their 
interests  are  common.   In  many  of  the  cities  minimum 
price-lists  of  optical  goods  have  been  adopted,  with  great 
benefits  to  all.   One  instance  of  the  optical  branch  will 
illustrate  my  pwnt  that  one  does  not  lose  when  he  refuses 
to  be  inq>osed  upon  by  customers.    A  woman  once, 
in  company  with  her  husband,  came  in  our  store  to 
see  about  glasses,  and,  after  examination,  we  found  that 
it  was  their  desire  to  dytain  glasses  on  trial  to  be  returned 
if  unsatisfactory.   Upon  our  refusal  to  entertain  such  a 
propositicm,  they  said  that  they  had  been  refused  by  an- 
other <^cian,  but  would  look  further.     The  next 
morning,  meeting^Optician  No.  i,  the  writer  spoke  to  him 
about  it,  and  found  out  that  the  couple,  after  making  a 
third  adl,  had  gone  back  to  the  plafce  where  they  had  first 
called,  and  had  bought  glasses  and  paid  for  them.  It 
would  be  the  same  way  about  free  engraving.   If  cus- 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


tomers  walked  out  of  one  store  because  of  being  limited 
in  this  matter,  and  found  that  it  was  the  same  elsewhere, 
they  would  not  run  around  any  further,  but  would  either 
buy  in  the  second  place  or  go  back  to  the  first  place  again. 
Customers  lost  through  enforcing  rules  are  made  up  by 
the  gains  from  those  lost  by  others. 

Where  engraving  is  brought  in,  a  fair  charge  should  be 
made  for  the  work,  as  otherwise  people  will  not  appre- 
ciate what  you  give  free  in  this  line.  A  distinction  has 
to  be  made,  necessarily,  between  a  monogram  put  on  a 
$50  watch  and  a  $2  locket.  Because  you  would  engrave 
a  locket  for  fifty  cents  to  one  dollar,  it  does  not  follow 
that  you  would  engrave  a  watch  for  the  same  price. 
Such  work  on  a  watch  case  should  bring  at  least  $2.50 
and  upwards,  according  to  style.  Engraving  the  cap  of  a 
watch  should  never  be  done  for  less  than  $1  and  upward, 
according  to  amount  of  engraving,  etc.  The  laborer  is 
worthy  of  his  hire,  and  besides  the  time  it  takes  to  do  the 
work,  wc  should  also  consider  the  length  of  time  it  took 
to  learn  the  trade.  Have  your  work  of  the  highest  stand- 
ard, and  charge  enough  for  it,  or  show  its  value  by  lim- 
itation of  free  engraving.  If  you  do  good  work  you  will 
be  kept  busy  any  way. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


27 


CHAPTER  VI. 


ADVERTISING  BY  THE  RETAILER. 

Docs  Advertiaiiic  Paj?— >Yes,  if  Proper  Attention  is  Devoted 
to  it — ^The  Newspaper  Advertisement  Supplemented  bj 
Booklets  is  the  Best  lisdium  of  Publicity. 

ADVERTISING  is  that  subject  which,  while  ever 
old,  yet  is  also  ever  new.  We  may  read  and 
study  advertisements  and  advertising  matter  un- 
til we  feel  that  there  is  nothing  more  to  be  said  upon  the 
subject.  Yet,  even  if  nothing  new  can  be  learned  from 
the  continual  repetitions  of  these  articles,  still  the  mind 
is  enabled  to  grasp  with  a  better  understanding  truths 
which  must  certainly  make  one  a  better  business  man.  It 
is  a  good  deal  with  a  writer  on  any  of  these  trade  topics  as 
it  is  with  the  minister  of  the  Gospel.  There  are  certain 
subjects  of  interest  to  all,  and  on  these  themes  one  must 
orate,  as  to  go  without  these  bounds  is  to  enter  the  realms 
of  the  uninteresting,  and  therefore  uninstructive. 
Therefore  we  find  that  preachers  are  sometimes  at  a  loss 
for  suitable  topics,  and  for  newer  and  better  ways  of 
treating  those  which  have  served  their  turn  over  and  over. 
One  divine  said  that  he  was  satisfied  if  he  could  ofPei* 
one  new  thought  in  each  sermon,  thereby  giving  his  con- 
gregation one  new  idea  to  carry  home  with  them.  But 
after  all,  it  is  the  subjects  with  which  we  are  familiar, 
and  which  we  ourselves  understand,  which  we  like  to  have 
discussed,  and  while  we  may  not  always  ag^ec  with  the 
speaker  or  writer  in  the  statements  made,  yet  even  if  our 
opposition  is  aroused  to  the  ideas  promulgated,  we  ere 
the  better  for  having  listened  or  ^ead  the  article,  because 
our  thinking  powers  have  been  aroused. 

Why  then  do  we  advertise?  It  is  surely  not  because 
wc  wish  to  give  a  certain  portion  of  our  receipts  x 
profits  to  the  newspaper  or  printer.   It  is  because  we  ex- 


28 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


pect  to  get  back  much  more  than  we  put  into  it  Whedier 
we  do  or  not  is  a  matter  for  conjecture.   Some  contend 
that  advertising  pays ;  others,  that  it  does  not.  Whom 
shall  we  believe?  To  my  mmd,  the  advertising  badcers 
have  the  weight  of  argument  widi  them.   But  the  ad- 
vertising and  the  advertiser  must  be  worthy  to  merit  and 
win  success.  If  we  spend  money  wiA  the  hopes  of 
drawing  trade  to  our  store,  we  must  be  prepared  to 
spead  time  in  consideration  of  what  matter  to  put  in  the 
space  for  the  temporary  ownership  of  whi^  we  pay  a 
good  round  price.    Newspaper  space  is  expennve 
enough  for  the  small  dealer,  even  if  he  make  the  best  use 
of  it.   But  if  he  uses  that  space  to  demonstrate  that  he 
knows  nothing  whatever  about  the  proper  wording  *>f 
an  ad.,  or  that  he  is  a  weak  grammarian,  his  money  has 
been  wasted.   People  form  impressions,  and  it  has  been 
said  that  first  impressions  are  the  most  lasting.  Al- 
though many  contend  that  they  do  not  read  adverti«ng 
matter,  the  fact  remains  that  those  who  have  never  met 
you  will  read  your  advertisements,  and  unconsciously 
form  an  opinion  of  you.   Take  care  that  this  opinkm  be 
favorable.   The  advertisements  of  a  man  do  not  make 
the  man,  any  more  than  a  coat  makes  the  man,  but  they 
somehow  or  other  give  one  an  impression  regarding  him, 
While  not  advocating  the  employment  of  an  advertise- 
ment writer,  yet  under  present  conditions  it  is  posstUe 
for  a^  jeweler  to  connect  himself  with  advertisement 
agencies  who  will  furnish  him,  at  comparatively  small 
cost,  carefully  worded  advertisements  from  whkh  he  can 
strike  out  words  or  sentences  which  are  not  acceptable 
to  him,  or  describing  goods  which  he  does  not  handle. 
But  under  such  circumstances,  he  has  at  hand  ads*  for 
any  and  all  occasions.   The  addition  of  such  e3q>ense  to 
one's  advertidng  e3q>enses  is  not  unnecessary  outlay. 
Advertising  space,  improperly  used,  is  expense.  Prop- 
erly used,  it  is  the  same  as  merchandise.   It  cannot  fail 
of  returns.   The  writer  has  always  held  to  new^Miper 
advertising  as  the  jeweler's  best  medium  of  publicity. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


29 


and  believes  that  when  the  retail  jeweler  has  covered  the 
field  with  space  in  the  daily  papers,  any  further  outlay 
should  be  in  the  form  of  booklets,  which  can  be  mailed 
to  a  selected  list  of  customers.  Street  car  advertising 
has  its  advocates,  but  most  of  them  are  found  among  the 
solicitors  of  the  advertising  managers,  or  among  the 
manufacturers  of  commodities  of  various  kinds  which 
arc  on  sale  not  only  in  the  city  where  the  reader  sees 
them  advertised,  but  in  every  city  and  townslup  in  tiie 
length  and  breadth  of  the  land.  Such  articles,  contin- 
ually brought  to  mind,  will  sometime  be  bought,  and 
wh^her  bcwght  in  Boston  or  Los  Angeles,  the  manufac- 
turer receives  his  profit  therefrom.  Not  so,  however, 
with  the  retail  advertiser  in  the  street  cars.  The  reader 
oi  the  ad.  must  always  bear  his  particular  address  in 
mind,  and  hie  himself  to  his  particular  store,  or  he  is 
not  a  gainer  thereby. 

Bill  board  advertising  is  but  tenqK>rary,  and  as  the 
different  shows  are  forgotten  as  soon  as  succeeding  ones 
cover  up  the  announcements,  so  the  advertisements  fol- 
low each  other  into  oblivion. 

Of  course,  if  one  is  not  hampered  by  the  necessity  of 
dose  figuring  r^rdii^  his  advertising  appropriation, 
except  to  allot  so  much  to  this,  and  so  much  to  that,  he 
can  afford  to  e3q>eriment.  But  the  small  dealer,  who  has 
but  a  small  sum  which  he  can  invest  in  that  manner, 
must  safeguard  that  expenditure  to  the  greatest  degree 
possiUe.  It  is  the  same  way  with  that,  as  it  is  with  the 
investment  of  money  in  industrial  or  other  properties. 
The  wealthy  man  can  take  a  hundred  shares  in  every- 
thing that  comes  along,  and,  in  the  natural  course  of 
events,  he  comes  out  winner,  althou^  he  may  hold  many 
blanks.  The  man  of  moderate  means  cannot  afford  to 
make  haphazard  investments,  because  if  <Mie  is  a  failure 
he  is  ruined.  Still,  we  find  men  who  cannot  afford  to 
waste  money  engaging  space  here  and  there,  and  never 
making  a  proper  use  of  it.  How  much  business  would 
yoct  do,  if  you  had  el^;antly  carved  and  decorated  fix- 


30 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


tures,  with  settees  scattered  here  and  there  through  a 
mammoth  establishment,  and  without  any  goods.  None 
of  course.  Neither  will  you  do  business  through  your 
advertising  sfiace  unless  you  make  that  qnce  represent 
you  and  your  store,  and  if  it  is  your  representative,  sec 
that  it  is  a  creditable  one.  If  a  booklet  is  used  to  adver- 
tise your  store,  have  a  good  one.  The  difference  in  cost 
between  a  booklet  that  is  kept,  and  a  boc^kt  that  is 
tossed  in  the  waste  basket,  is  small  indeed.  Do  not  be 
"penny  wise  and  pound  foolish."  "Whatever  is  worth 
doing  is  wcnth  doing  well." 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


31 


CHAPTER  VII. 


ADVERTISING  THB  RBPiOR  DSPARTMSNT 

To  Much  Cannot  be  Said  about  This  Important  Factor  to  the 
Business  of  the  Retailer  —  Always  do  Good  Work  —  In 
Advertising  the  Repair  Department  You  are  at  the  Same 
Time  Advertising  the  Whole  Business. 

TO  a  great  many  jewelers,  the  idea  of  advertising 
their  repairing  department  seems,  to  say  the  least, 
ridiculous.  "Everybody  knows  that  we  repair 
watches  and  clocks,"  say  these  wise  men.  But  is  that 
fact  absolutely  true,  and,  if  it  is,  does  it  necessarily  fol- 
low that  you  will  get  your  share  of  the  repairing?  How 
often  has  the  writer  heard  the  inquiry  made  by  strangers, 
and  even  by  purchasers  of  goods,  "Do  you  repair  watches 
here?"  The  fact  that  so  many  stores  where  new  goods 
are  sold  conduct  no  repair  departments  makes  this  ques- 
tion a  reasonable  one.  Consider  for  a  moment  the  shoe 
stores  where  repairing  is  declined ;  the  clothing  stores, 
with  no  provision  for  making  repairs  or  alterations;  and 
even  wall-paper  sold  to  customers,  and  the  matter  of  hav- 
ing it  hung  on  their  walls  left  to  them  to  figure,  out  and 
either  find  a  paperhanger  or  do  it  themselves. 

So  we  find  people  with  watches  and  clocks  in  search 
of  a  reliable  place  to  have  them  restored  to  running  order. 
This  place  once  found,  they  will  make  it  thdr  business 
to  recommend  others  to  carry  their  work  there.  But 
how  can  we  get  these  searchers  for  repairers  to  come 
our  way?  There  is  one  way  which  is  slow  but  sure, 
namely,  to  send  each  repair  customer  away  entirely  sat- 
isfied with  the  work  done.  The  wofk,  when  done,  must 
be  well  done.  Price  is  not  the  object  that  some  people 
believe  in  influencing  work.  Satisfactory  woik  always 
brings  satisfactory  remuneratkm.  By  holding  eadi  cus- 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


tomer's  trade  and  their  influence,  we  will  steadily  gain 
ground,  but  if  we  wish  to  increase  our  repairing  rapidly 
we  must  advertise.  It  is  not  necessary  for  us  to  wait 
until  a  man  has  carried  his  watch  to  several  stores  and 
then  brings  it  to  us  as  a  last  resort.  By  advertising 
properly  we  can  bring  him  directly  to  our  store  with  his 
work.  The  question  naturally  to  be  asked  at  this  time 
is,  **How  to  advertise  the  repair  department?"  Of 
course,  the  newspaper  comes  foremost  as  the  medium  in 
which  to  push  our  repair  business.  It  is  well,  in  these 
ads,  to  put  interesting  matter,  which  will  demonstrate 
our  familiarity  with  watches  in  general,  as  well  as  our 
ability  to  successfully  repair  infirm  watches.  We  should 
advertise  for  the  best  work,  as  such  work  pays  better  and 
is  not  as  difficult  as  the  dieap  work.  If  you  advertise 
for  first-class  work  only,  you  will  have  enough  cheap 
work  thrust  at  you.  But  if  you  advertise  for  cheap 
work,  as  "watches  cleaned  for  50  cents,"  you  will  get 
that  class  of  trade  and  no  other.  The  man  with  a  fine 
watch  will  not  trust  it  to  a  bungler,  and,  as  such,  he 
classifies  the  "cut-rate"  man  while  the  man  with  a  low- 
priced  watch  may  think  it  valuable  enough  to  carry  to 
the  first-class  repairer  when  it  needs  such  attention.  We 
can  tell  some  information  about  watches,  such  as  the 
improvements  which  have  been  made;  the  number  of 
parts  of  which  a  watch  is  composed;  the  number  of 
times  the  balance  of  a  watch  beats  in  an  hour,  a  week, 
month,  and  year.  Call  the  reader's  attention  to  the  fact 
that  this  wonderful  machine  runs  night  and  day  alike, 
and  that  the  amount  of  oil  which*  can  be  put  on  a  watch 
is  very  little  indeed,  and  that  after  this  oil  dries  there  is 
a  wear  on  the  parts.  Tell  them  not  to  wait  until  the 
watch  stops  from  sheer  exhaustion  before  giving  it  the 
needed  attention,  but  to  regularly  once  every  year  bring 
to  to  the  watch-doctors  for  overhauling,  as  in  this  way 
the  life  of  the  watch  will  be  greatly  lengthened.  Impress 
through  these  ads  that  while  you  want  the  job  of  clean- 
ing the  watch,  it  as  much  or  more  to  the  interest  of  the 


EVANS'S  ESS  A  YS. 


35 


customer  to  have  it  attended  to  in  this  way.  Make 
people  think. 

If  we  are  prepared  to  handle  fine  hall  clocks  and 
French  clocks,  we  can  successfully  make  a  bid  for  this 
work  through  the  perscxial  letter.  The  names  of  resi- 
dents of  a  city  who  are  owners  of  fine  clocks  can  gen- 
erally be  found  through  the  street  directories  by  taking 
the  streets  on  which  the  more  wealthy  residents  live. 
A  genuine  personal  letter  to  them,  describing  our  stor^ 
and  its  ability  to  handle  such  work  satisfactorily,  with  a 
return  postal  card  with  the  jeweler's  address  printed 
thereon,  and  with  an  order  to  call  for  and  repair  a  hall 
or  French  clock  filled  in  on  the  back,  requiring  only  the 
signature  of  the  person  addressed  to  complete  the  order, 
v.'ill  generally,  if  there  is  need  of  such  work,  result  in 
the  landing  of  the  job.  In  every  house  there  are  probably 
one  or  more  clocks  out  of  order  which  needs  the  jew- 
eler's attention,  but  which,  from  carelessness,  are  for- 
gotten from  day  to  day.  The  personal  letter,  with  the 
postal  card  enclosed,  make  easy  the  giving  of  the  order 
to  call.  Thi's  idea  can  be  successfully  carried  out  all 
through  the  city  if  the  jeweler  cares  fo  extend  his  offer 
to  call  for  clocks  to  the  ordinary  ones,  as  well  as  to  the 
larger  ones. 

Interesting  window  displays  can  be  made,  calling  at- 
tention to  our  repair  department,  if  we  give  a  little  time 
and  study  to  it.  Take  a  watch  entirely  to  pieces  and  lay 
the  pieces  on  white  tissue  paper,  and  with  a  card  explain- 
ing that  it  is  the  several  parts  of  a  watch,  and  then  see 
how  many  people  will  stop  to  see  it.  If  you  get  hold  of 
an  old  watch,  out-of-date  as  to  size  and  appearance,  lay 
it  in  the  window  along  with  a  modem  watch.  If  you 
have  a  mainspring  broken  in  an  unusual  manner,  as,  for 
instance,  through  every  coil,  put  the  parts  in  the  win- 
dow. Anything  unusual  will  attract.  This  time  of  year 
is  a  good  tkne  to  push  the  repair  department.  We  can 
lay  stress  upon  the  fact  that  if  a  person  is  going  into  the 
woods  or  country  for  a  month's  vacation,  it  is  necessary 
to  have  a  good  timepiece  with  them,  in  order  to  be  able 


34 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


to  so  plan  their  time  that  they  will  be  able  to  be  back  to 
their  bezels  in  ti-me  for  meals.  That,  therefore  it  will 
pay  them  to  have  their  watch  overhauled  before  they  go, 
ra&er  than  to  suffer  the  inconvenience  of  having  the 
watch  stop  when  they  are  miles  away  from  a  reliable 
watchmaker. 

A  fact  we  should  not  lose  sight  of  is,  that  while  we 
are  advertising  our  repair  departments,  we  are  also  ad- 
vertising our  store  and  business,  just  as  much  as  when 
we  advertise  a  ^)ecial  watch  we  may  have  for  sale. 
Keep  the  repair  department  to  the  front  always.  The 
largest  jewelry  stores  find  it  pays  to  push  this  depart- 
ment and  make  a  specialty  of  it.  Let  us  follow  their 
example.  Let  us  have  a  first-class  wafch  repairing  de- 
partment, but  also  let  us  be  sure  that  everybody  knows 
about  it.  The  ^ood  book  tells  us  ''not  to  light  a  candle 
and  place  it  under  a  bushel,"  and  we  should  follow  its 
advice.  Proclaim  it,  if  necessary,  from  the  housetops, 
that  "this  is  the  place  to  have  your  watch  repaired." 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS.  35 


CHAPTER  VIIL 


THE  BUYING  OF  STOCK. 

Buy  Goods  to  Sell  at  a  Profit,  not  because  the  Salesman 
is  a  Good  Fellow— Keep  Tabs  on  Qiiotatiohs^Bay 
"Leaden"  bat  Don't  Get  Fooled  into  Pajring  Too  Much 
for  the  Otiier  Goods. 

W-IEN  we  think  of  making  money,  we  seem  natu- 
rally to  figure  that  we  are  going  to  make  it 
from  the  sale  at  a  profit  of  the  goods  bought. 
We  seem  to  consider  the  buying  of  stock  only  one  of  the 
incidentals  of  business.  So,  we  find  our  merchants  fight- 
ing shy  of  the  commercial  traveler,  and  infoiming  them 
as  fast  as  they  come  that  there  is  nothing  they  are  in 
need  of  at  that  time,  and  generally  ending  by  buying  a 
bill  of  goods,  grudgingly,  after  a  great  deal  urging  and 
the  expenditure  of  "hot  air"  by  the  traveling  salesman. 

There  is  altogether  too  much  buying  of  goods  because 
the  traveler  is  "a  good  fellow."  Most  of  them  are  that 
kind,  or  they  would  not  be  on  the  road.  That  fact  alone 
is  not  sufficient  to  make  it  necessary  to  buy  goods.  We 
should  always  be  ready  to  expend  our  time  in  looking 
over  lines  of  goods,  where  the  salesman  is  a  gentleman 
and  does  not  consider  it  a  personal  matter  when  you  do 
not  buy.  By  looking  over  different  lines  of  goods  we 
acquire  information  regarding  goods  and  prices.  What 
are  the  prevailing  styles,  and  who  carries  the  best  lines 
of  certain  goods,  and  whose  prices  are  most  reasonable, 
are  some  of  the  important  knowledge  gained  through 
contact  with  the  traveling  man.  He  is  also  a  walking 
encyclopedia,  and  can  give  us  all  the  latest  trade  gossip. 
All  this  is  very  interesting,  and  all  right  in  its  way.  but 
we  should  never  feel  it  necessary  to  buy  an3rthing  which 
we  do  not  want,  or  do  not  need,  because  of  any  fancied 
obligatioa  to  the  traveler. 


36 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


He  comes  to  see  us  on  business,  and  wishes  us  to  bu^ 
from  him  because  of  the  profit  which  will  accrue  to  his 
house,  and  indirectly  to  himself.  Therefore,  as  he  taOls 
upon  us  for  business  purposes  only,  why  not  meet  hkn 
upon  a  business  level,  and  if  we  are  in  need  of  goods, 
tell  him  so  frankly,  and  save  his  tune  and  your  own,  as 
you  are  perfectly  safe  in  betting  that  he  will  not  go  away 
until  he  has  shown  you  something,  whether  he  sells  you 
anything  or  not.  Now,  who  is  to  blame  for  the  condi- 
tion of  things?  The  commercial  traveler  hears  the 
same  old  story  in  the  same  old  way,  and  if  he  believed  it 
aH  and  went  his  way,  his  annual  sales  would  be  exceed- 
ingly light.  Would  it  not  be  better  for  all  concerned 
if  tiie  merchant  would  adopt  different  tactics  and  tell 
the  wholesaler  what  goods  he  would  like  to  see,  if  any? 
TTien,  if  occasionally  he  said  he  did  not  want  to  look  at 
anything,  his  word  would  be  accepted  as  given,  and  the 
traveler  would  journey  along. 

This  is  perhaps  a  disgression  from  the  subject  of  "The 
Buying  of  Stock."  In  some  stores  the  buying  of  stock 
is  entirely  done  by  the  proprietor,  who  may  or  may  not 
be  the  one  most  and  best  fitted  for  that  position.  Let  us, 
however,  consider  the  advantages  of  having  one  man  to 
do  the  buving  of  stock.  He  looks  at  all  the  seyeral^  lines, 
and  that  being  his  business  he  can  cultivate  his  mind^  to 
remember  prices  and  distinguish  styles  and  qualities. 
He  is,  perhaps,  a  little  better  able  to^makc  purdiases 
at  close  figures  than  where  several  are  interested  in  the 
buying.  There  is  an  advantage,  however,  in  having  two 
or  three  look  over  samples.  Every  one  has  a  little  differ- 
ent taste,  and  articles  which  would  be  turned  down  by 
the  one-man  buyer  will  meet  with  the  approval  of  one  of 
the  joint  ccwnmittee  on  purchasing.  Variety  in  stock  is 
everything,  providing  tlwit  we  do  not  go  out  of  the  r^- 
ular  line  too  far. 

Perhaps,  on  articles  like  watches,  diamonds,  and  ex- 
pensive goods  generally,  one  man  makes  the  best  xmr- 
chaser,  while  on  the  line  of  jewelry  generally,  rings, 
and  so  on,  the  idea  of  as  many  as  possible  should  be 
consulted.  On  expensive  articles,  one  man  can  buy,  in 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


37 


an  hour  or  so,  as  much  as  the  entire  force  can  sell  in  a 
year  or  more.  Then,  too,  on  diamonds  and  precious 
stones,  one  man,  by  giving  it  his  undivided  attention, 
can  develop  his  eye  so  that  he  will  become  an  expert  re- 
garding stones  and  their  values. 

In  the  general  conduct  of  our  business,  we  will,  from 
time  to  time,  be  given  quotations  on  different  articles 
which  we  may  not  need  at  that  time,  and  which  may  be 
leaders  of  that  particular  house,  or  the  prices  may  be 
given  because  we  have  no  apparent  need  of  the  goods. 

If  we  do  not  at  that  time  wish  to  take  advantage  of 
the  offer,  we  should  adopt  some  method  for  keeping 
track  of  these  quotations,  which  can  be  consulted  easily 
and  quickly.  For  those  who  are  willing  to  earn  a  little 
extra  mcmey,  wiUi  a  small  expenditure  of  labor,  let  me 
offer  the  suggestion  that  they  conduct  a  small  card  index 
system  for  recording  these  quotations.  A  small  one 
can  be  bought,  the  size  to  set  on  your  desk  (m:  in  a  drawer, 
for  $1  to  $1.50,  and  comes  complete  with  cards  and  in- 
dexes, alphabetical  and  numerical.  With  this  arrange- 
ment, it  is  an  easy  matter  to  write  down  a  price  given 
on  clocks  on  a  card,  with  the  name  and  address  of  the 
firm  giving  it,  and  the  date  given,  and  drop  it  into  the 
letter  C.  If  we  wish  we  can  write  another  card,  with  the 
same  information,  and  drop  it  in  the  letter  of  the  firm 
giving  it. 

It  will  surprise  you  sometimes  to  fiiid  out  what  you 
will  save  in  this  way.  We  cannot  trust  too  much  to 
memory  but  should  assist  our  memory  in  handling  the 
many  details  of  the  business.  A  quotation  given,  and 
not  taken  advantage  of  at  the  time  g^ven,  may  slip  our 
niind  when  we  come  to  buy  these  ggpods,  and  we  giv« 
or  send  the  order  to  anoUier  house,  and  pay  them  a 
higher  price  than  we  have  any  need  of. 

We  all  know  that  some  of  our  wholesale  houses,  fol- 
lowing the  methods  of  tihe  department  store,  sell  some 
goods  at  very  near  cost,  and  trust  make  it  up  on  other 
goods.  We  should  never  form  our  judgment  of  the 
prices  of  any  house  by  comparison  of  leaders.   What  we 


38 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


should  do  is  to  take  advantage  of  the  leaders,  and  should 
so  know  our  business  that  we  will  not  be  led  to  order 
other  goods  at  higher  prices  than  we  would  pay  else- 
where. 

Another  reason  for  being  up-to-date,  and  keeping 
records  of  the  prevailing  prices,  and  who  is  the  lowest 
on  them,  is  that  we  will  be  surer  of  getting  bottom  prices 
on  our  goods,  because  we  will  acquire  the  reputation  of 
being  right  on  the  job  regarding  correct  prices. 

Another  important  matter  is  the  buying  of  goods  so 
that  several  bills  of  large  amounts  do  not  come  due  at 
the  same  time  or  near  together.  We  should  keep  a  book 
or  file,  in  which  to  enter  latest  dates  when  bills  are  due, 
and  still  subject  to  the  cash  discount.  Ih  this  way  we 
can  know  at  any  time  just  what  money  we  have  to  pay 
out  the  coming  week  or  month,  and  whether  of  not  we 
can  conveniently  handle  any  further  bills.  If  we  are 
careful  in  this  way,  we  wiH  be  surer  of  staying  in  busi- 
ness, because  it  is  the  careless  man,  who  buvs  with  no 
thought  of  the  settling  time,  who  suddenly,  ammt  with- 
out warning,  receives  statements  calling  for  immedii^ 
settlement  When  he  meets  with  this  condition  of  af^ 
fairs,  if  he  cannot  takt  care  of  these  bills  his  other  cred-* 
itors  will  be  after  him,  and  where  is  he?  If  wc  are  de- 
sirous of  buying  goods,  and  the  bill  at  regular  terms 
would  foe  due  at  the  same  time  as  another  large  bill,  have 
it  dated  ten  days  ahead.  Do  not  accept  long  dating*  as 
that  encourages  carelessness. 

Be  on  your  guard  all  the  time.  The  surest  way  to 
keep  friends  with  your  creditors  is  to  never  owe  them 
as  much  as  they  would  like  to  have  you.  Be  independ- 
ent. You  can  be  so  if  you  pay  promptly.  Do  not  let 
any  house  own  you,  or  think  that  you  have  got  to  buy 
goods  from  them.  Keep  your  bills  paid  up.  Go  slow, 
but  in  the  right  direction  and  you  will  finally  land  at 
the  top  of  the  hill  where  the  rest  of  the  successful  mer- 
chants are. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS.  39 


CHAPTER  IX. 

TAKING  CASH  DISCOUNTS. 

Diiconnting  Bills  Give  the  Retailer  a  Better  Reputation  with 
the  Jobbct^It  Many  Tunes  Saves  a  Finn  From  Finan- 
ciftl  Disaster  in  the  End. 

THIS  subject  has  been  written  about  many  times, 
but  I  think  its  importance  to  the  retail  jeweler 
warrants  it.   To  successfully  conduct  any  busi- 
ness, be  it  great  or  small,  we  must  take  advantage  of  the 

cash  discount. 

There  are  a  great  many  reasons  to  advance,  all  of  them 
good,  for  always  taking  the  cash  discount.  If  the  goods 
are  worth  the  prices  quoted,  and  there  is  a  discount  of- 
fered for  cash  in  ten  days,  is  not  that  per  cent,  allowed 
for  prompt  payment,  profit?  And,  is  it  not  the  only 
profit  which  we  are  sure  of?  Is  the  additional  time 
given  worth  the  price  it  costs? 

The  man  who  takes  the  cash  discount  on  all  bills,  sel- 
dom, if  ever,  gets  into  financial  difficulties,  because,  in 
order  to  meet  occurring  obligations  as  they  come  due,  he 
must  necessarily  buy  in  smaller  quantities  than  he  who 
never  takes  a  cash  discount.  Again,  he  lets  his  bills 
mature,  and  then  gives  notes,  and  many  tunes  renews 
them,  and  finally  he  runs  up  against  the  cold,  hard  fact 
that  his  business  is  not  desired  by  any  first-class  house. 

The  value  of  a  name  for  prompt  payment  of  bills  can- 
not be  overestimated.  Although  a  good  many  of  the 
traveling  men  try  to  give  the  impresswn  that  your  money 
is  not  wanted,  and  that  you  can  take  your  own  time  to 
pay  for  the  goods,  the  reason,  however,  that  they  arc  call- 
ing upon  you  is  because  their  house  wants  money,  if  not 
at  that  particular  moment,  at  some  later  date,  and  they 
like  to  know  when  to  count  on  receiving  it.   How  much 


40  EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


better  it  is  to  be  set  down  as  one  who  always  pays  in  ten 
days,  rather  than  as  "good  pay,  but  slow." 

The  traveling  man,  by  holding  out  this  bait  that  you 
need  be  in  no  hurry  to  pay  for  goods,  manages  to  sell 
you  perhaps  a  larger  bill  than  you  ordinarily  would  have 
bought.  If  a  dealer  yields  to  the  offers  of  several  travel- 
ing men  in  this  way  he  has  bought  all  the  goods  he  will 
need  for  the  season,  and  perhaps  longer.  He  has  also, 
many  times,  tied  his  hands  so  that  he  cannot  take  advan- 
tage of  special  offers  for  cash  or  short  time.  Then,  if 
the  season  is  a  little  slow,  and  Tie  has  not  enough  money 
to  meet  his  bills,  now  fully  matured,  he  will  find  out 
whether  the  jobber  will  want  his  money  or  not.  A  good 
man,  with  no  dishonest  intentions,  will  then  oftimes  be 
forced  to  the  wall  through  no  fault  of  his  own. 

The  dealer  who  takes  advantage  of  every  cent  of  dis- 
count (^ered  acquires  a  reputation  for  his  shrewdness 
and  foresight;  and  he  will  be  sought  out  by  those  who 
are  anxious  to  dose  out  some  line  of  goods,  and  are  will- 
ing to  give  a  dose  buyer,  who  is  prompt  in  payment, 
some  special  advantage  in  price  or  discount 

In  these  days  of  the  telq>hone  and  telegraph  the  ex- 
press, and  the  sj^endid  mail  service,  it  is  not  necessary 
to  buy  stock  far  in  advance,  because  we  can  easily  fill  in 
depleted  stocks,  in  two  or  three  days*  time,  excepting,  of 
course,  during  the  hdiday  rush.  So,  too,  the  number  of 
traveling  men  who  are  out  are  legion,  and  they  are  all 
anxious  to  sell  goods.  We  should  be  careful,  therefore, 
not  to  buy  more  than  we  need. 

Sometimes  the  traveling  man  will  say,  "How  many, 
a  dozen  ?"  and  the  dealer  will  say  "yes,"  when  perhaps 
a  quarter  dozen  would  be  plenty.  Never  be  ashamed  to 
order  a  small  quantity.  Better  do  this,  and  re-order 
often,  than  to  accumulate  a  lot  of  old  stock.  The  whole- 
sale house  will  think  more  of  you  for  going  careful. 

If  you  acquire  a  reputation  for  prompt  payment  better 
houses  will  seek  your  patronage ;  and  as  will  naturally 
follow,  either  you  will  be  quoted  better  prices,  or  will 
have  a  better  selection  of  goods  offered  you,   I  believe 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


41 


it  pays  a  dealer  to  look  over  stocks  often,  as  the  repre- 
sentative is  always  anxious  to  show.  Many  times  it  will 
be  a  decided  advantage  to  the  jeweler  to  do  so.  Either 
he  will  find  that  his  goods  were  bought  right,  and  it  is 
worth  something  to  know  that,  or  he  may  find  out  that 
he  has  been  paymg  too  much  for  some  kinds  of  goods.  ^. 

Avoid  the  snare  of  the  easy  terms  "four  months  net." 
Do  not  be  always  looking  for  dating  on  bills.  Figure 
close  on  prices  and  discoimts.  Give  the  wholesaler  to 
understand  that  it  is  straight  goods  and  price,  not  time, 
that  you  want  "Time  is  money,"  so  they  say,  but  time 
is  not  worth  the  money  it  costs  you.  When  you  can  bor- 
row money  at  6  per  cent,  interest  per  year,  why  should 
you  lose  6  per  cent,  discount  for  the  mere  satisfaction  of 
taking  60  days,  90  days,  of  four  months  net? 

Concentrate  your  business.  Do  business  with  as  few 
as  is  positively  necessary.  If  you  owe  $5,000  to  five  dif- 
ferent concerns,  you  can  make  payments  to  each  of  them 
easily.  But,  if  you  owe  the  same  amount  divided  among 
fifty  concerns,  you  do  not  always  know  whom  to  pay  first. 
This,  of  course,  only  applies  where  the  dealer  does  not 
buy  in  small  quantities  and  takes  the  cash  discount  off  of 
everything. 

The  reason  so  few  jewelers  take  the  cash  discount  is 
because  they  are  ambitious  and  try  to  carry  as  big  a  stock 
of  everything  as  their  neighbor,  who,  perhaps,  has  more 

money. 

Better  go  slow,  pay  as  we  go,  and  in  time ;  the  saving 
on  the  discount  will  enable  us  to  have  better  fixtures  or 

better  stock. 

A  good  many  stores  pay  their  rent,  heating,  advertis- 
ing, and  lighting  from  their  cash  discounts.  It  is  not 
worth  your  while  to  join  the  ranks  of  those  who  always 
take  the  cash  discounts,  if.  you  are  not  already  one  of 
them  ? 


42  EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


CHAPTER  X. 

SHOW  WINDOWS  ANl>  THBIR  USES. 

£aormous  Gains  Made  in  this  Manner  from  Transient  Cus- 
tomers— The  Middle  Class  are  all  the  Show  Window 
Lookers,  and  the  Middle  Class  Pay  Cash — Specialty 
Windows  Make  a  Good  Impression. 

FROM  time  immemorial,  business  men  fiave,  to  a 
greater  or  less  extent,  recognized  the  possibilities 
of  benefit  to  be  derived  from  the  proper  display 

of  goods  in  their  show  windows.  It  is  perhaps  super- 
fluous to  mention  the  wonderful  developments  which 
have  occurred  along  this  line.  The  metropolitan  stores, 
and  their  followers  in  the  inland  cities,  demonstrate  that 
there  is  a  strong  current  generated  by  proper  window  dis- 
plays. The  grocery  and  fruit  stores  find  that  sales  are 
stimulated  by  having  their  goods  pushed  well  out  on  the 
sidewalk,  where  the  passing  public  will  fall  over  them. 
This  belief  is  well  founded,  as  were  they  to  keep  their 
goods  inside  the  store  boundaries,  it  would  be  a  com- 
paratively easy  matter  to  walk  by  their  establishments 
without  noticing  their  existence,  unless  one  had  a  specific 
errand  there.  The  dollars  picked  up  from  transients  be- 
cause of  having  the  goods  where  they  cannot  help  but  sec 
them  is  enormous. 

There  are  many  reasons  why  it  is  necessary  for  a  store 
to  keep  attractively  arranged  shop-windows.  One  of 
them  is  that  to  enter  a  store,  particularly  a  specialty  store,, 
such  as  a  jewelry  store,  means,  to  a  large  class  of  peopte, 
that  they  must  have  a  purchase  in  mind.  Indeed,  the 
clerks  in  small  stores  seem  to  be  trained  to  think  likewise. 
People  therefote  are  delicate  about  entering  a  store  of 
tiiis  character  merely  to  gaze  and  admire,  with  no  idea 
of  an  immediate  purchase.  To  such  people  the  show- 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS.  43 


window  is  a  welcome  adjunct  to  the  several  stores  in 
which  they  are  interested.    To  stop  and  look  in  a  window 
implies  nothing  more  than  curiosity  and  obligates  the 
gazer  to  nothing,  nor  is  her  departure  made  difficult. 
Thousands  pass  your  store  daily  who  perhaps  will  never 
enter  unless  you  can  exert  some  iniiuence  or  advance 
some  reason  for  their  doing  so.    Many  jewelers  feel  very 
dignified  regarding  tlieir  stores  and  their  methods  of  do- 
ing business.    This  is  all  very  well  for  those  who  have 
passed  the  anxious  stage  and  have  wealth  accumulated 
to  back  up  their  dignity.    Most  jewelers,  however,  are 
not  overburdened  with  wealth,  and  should  not  be  with 
dignity.    It  is  not  necessary  to  adopt  any  cheap  methods 
for  attracting  notice  to  our  stores.    There  is  a  happy 
medium  between  an  excessive  dignity  and  cheap  clap  trap 
methods.    In  developing  a  business  we  do  not  wamt  to 
appeal  to  those  who  want  something  for  nothing  but  we 
do  want  to  appeal  to  those  who  want  good  reliable  goods, 
and  who  are  wilUng  to  pay  a  fair  price  for  them.  Ther.e 
are  enough  of  such  people  to  make  it  worth  while  to  make 
efforts  through  our  windows  to  bring  them  in. 

A  dignified  manner  tends  to  drive  away  the  middle 
class  trade,  and  calls  in  a  class  who  consider  themselves 
the  upper  crust,  and  whose  purchases  are  mainly  on 
credit  payable  six  months  or  so  later.  No  average  store 
can  exist  on  such  trade,  unless  enormous  profits  are 
added,  and  it  is  not  unusual  for  the  upper  class  to  wish  to 
pay  more  for  their  goods  than  others.  The  middle  class 
of  customers,  who  may  also  be  called  the  show  window 
lookers,  buy  moderate  priced  goods,  and  pay  for  them. 
To  this  class  then  we  must  cater.  It  is  not  advisable  to 
display  cheap  goods  in  our  windows,  as  this  condemns  the 
store  to  people  with  discerning  eyes  and  good  judgment, 
which  has  been  developed  by  ownership  and  purchase  of 
reliable  goods.  Many  stores  feel  that  they  must  offer  cut 
prices  on  goods  which  they  display,  or  otherwise  it  is  a 
mistake  to  mark  goods  plainly.  Nothing  could  be  far- 
ther from  the  truth  in  this  respect.  Every  one  who  stops 
and  looks  into  a  window  is  not  looking  for  something 
cheap.     The  average  customer  buys  medmm  priced 


44 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


goods.  He  does  not  want  i8k.  gold,  nor  does  he  want 
plated  or  cheap  gold  filled.  iHe  either  wishes  lok.  or  14k. 
gold  jewelry  or  the  best  gold  filled  of  that  article.  Take, 
for  instance,  the  one  article  of  bracelets.  A  young  man 
in  search  of  a  present  for  a  young  lady  may  not  care  to 
invest  twenty-five  to  fifty  dollars  in  one.  Neither  will  he 
care  to  purchase  one  for  a  dollar  or  two.  Something  in 
good  gold  filled,  costing  from  five  to  six  dollars,  or  in 
solid  gold,  costing  from  ten  to  fifteen  dollars,  will  be  most 
apt  to  appeal  to  him. 

In  planning  our  fall  window  displays,  we  must  first 
make  arrangements  as  to  our  window  fixtures  and  inte- 
rior decorations.  Many  find  it  to  be  an  excellent  idea  to 
have  different  colored  window  bottom  coverini^s  and  cur- 
tains which  match,  and  which  permits  of  changes  being 
made  in  the  appearance  of  the  window,  and  gives  every- 
thing in  it  a  new  and  fresh  appearance.  Window  fix- 
tures may  be  as  elaborate  or  as  inexpensive  as  one 
chooses.  One  may  purchase  these  from  dealers,  or  can 
plan  and  originate  one's  own,  and  making  them  oneself 
will  make  their  expense  practically  nothing.  Squares  of 
different  heights  and  sizes ;  triangles  and  rectangles  and 
steps  can  be  easily  made  and  covered  with  velvet  and 
will  be  ready  for  use  on  different  occasions.  The  use  c4 
sudi  arrangements  permits  of  setting^  some  special  article 
or  articles  in  prominent  positions  m  the  window,  and 
bringing  them  especially  before  the  public.  Take,  for  in- 
stance, a  lumdsome  lea  set  or  service  of  any  kind.  If  set 
flat  on  die  bottom  of  the  window  among  other  goods,  it 
may  become  only  a  part  of  a  conglomerate  mass.  If, 
however,  they  are  set  on  a  pedestal  or  other  elevation,  it 
becomes  a  separate  and  distinct  part  of  the  displav. 
Some  window  displays  show  up  best  on  the  level,  while 
other  articles  demand  that  there  be  a  slant  to  show  their 
beauties  to  advantage.  As  has  been  said  in  reference  to 
the  curtains  and  window  coverings,  so  also  it  can  be  said 
of  these  diflPerent  shaped  fixtures;  they  give  a  different 
look  to  a  show  window  even  if  the  same  articles  are  used, 
while  in  addition,  the  use  of  such  fixtures  will  offer  sug- 
gestions as  to  the  display  of  articles  which  we  would  or- 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


4S 


dinarily  leave  out  of  the  window.  If  one  were  to  have 
the  window  bottom  perfectly  level,  with  no  elevations  of 
any  kind,  many  articles  would  have  to  oe  left  out  of  the 
window,  because  they  would  not  harmonize  with  the  rest 
of  the  goods  ordinarily  placed  in  a  show  window. 

Jewelers  generally  are  more  zealous  in  their  efforts  in 
the  direction  of  show  window  decoration  and  arrange- 
ment than  ever  before.  Changes  should  be  made  with 
regularity,  so  that  regular  attendants  will  not  become 
wearied  with  seeing  the  same  display  week  in  and  week 
out.  By  making  frequent  changes  one  prevents  any  one 
lot  of  articles  from  becoming  so  decidedly  shop-worn  as 
to  make  their  sale  well  nigh  impossible,  to  say  nothing  of 
the  lost  sales  from  having  such  goods  in  such  a  prominent 
place  as  the  show  window.  If  you  have  any  goods  which 
arc  specially  new  and  desirable  it  is  good  business  policy? 
at  once  to  show  them  in  the  window.  Many  have  an  idea 
that  they  can  sell  anything,  and  that  it  is  advisable  to 
push  old  timers  on  such  of  their  customers  as  they  think 
tiicy  can.  There  is  an  old  saying  to  the  effect,  "Put  your 
best  foot  foremost,"  and  applied  to  the  jewelry  busmess 
if  that  doesn't  mean,  "Keep  your  show  windows  m  first- 
class  order,"  then  its  meaning  is  not  clear  to  me. 

A  specialty  window  will  make  a  greater  nnpression 
than  a  general  window,  because  it  cannot  be  passed  with- 
out notice.  Let  us,  for  example,  consider  the  effects  of 
a  window  full  of  watches.  One  cannot  go  by  without 
recognizing  the  completeness  of  the  line  carried,  whether 
he  is  in  the  market  for  a  timepiece  or  not ;  while  the 
man  who  is  contemplating  the  purchase  of  a  watch 
is  more  apt  to  find  displayed  the  very  watch  which  he 
has  in  mind,  than  as  if  there  was  a  promiscuous  dis- 
play of  watches,  rings,  cuff  buttons,  chains,  etc.  Then, 
if  such  a  display  is  followed  later  by  a  display  of  all  the 
rings  in  the  establishment,  and  later  ones  with  cuff  but- 
tons, scarf  pins,  and  other  card  jewelry,  one  will  discover 
that  your  store  carries  an  almost  inexhaustible  supply  of 
the  various  goods  sold  in  a  jewelry  store.  One  must  use 
the  general  displays  oftener  than  a  special  one,  because 
of  the  pretty  arrangement  which  is  the  result,  and  which 


46 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


a  specialty  window  does  not  so  often  produce.  Another 
thing  to  feature  is  the  new  hnes  which  you  may  haV-e 
added  during  the  year.  Take  any  line  of  goods  which 
may  be  as  attractive  as  art  and  skill  can  make  them.  If 
you  place  them  carefully  in  the  rear  case  vou  will  very 
likely  find  them  there  after  Christmas,  little  changed  in 
appearance,  save  as  to  tarnish  and  dust  which  may  have 
accumulated.  Such  goods  should  be  kept  well  forward. 
If  not  in  the  show  window  they  should  occupy  a  promi- 
nent place  in  the  store.  One  cannot  with  justice  con- 
demn goods  as  unsaleable  which  are  not  staples  and  which 
he  has  carefully  hidden  away. 

As  the  holidays  approach  we  should  change,  if  neces- 
sary, the  goods  in  our  show  cases,  so  that  the  novelties 
and  Christmas  articles  will  be  in  the  cases  nearest  the 
door.  Staples,  such  as  table  ware  of  various  kinds  can 
be  placed  further  from  the  door,  as  such  articles,  if  de- 
sired, are  asked  for  by  the  customers.  In  dressing  a 
show  window,  one  should  have  a  fairly  well  developed 
idea  of  how  he  is  going  to  place  the  goods,  and  what  the 
general  result  will  be  before  beginning  to  arrange  the 
goods.  Jewelers  often  b^^rudge  the  time  necessarily 
spent  in  producing  a  beautiful  display,  ff  they  succeed 
in  originating  an  elegant  display,  they  often  leave  the 
goods  in  ^  window  until  the  display  has  long  outlived  its 
usefulness.  This  is  misdirected  energy  in  making  such  a 
display  and  then  leaving  it  so  long  before  the  public.  Bet- 
ter to  have  placed  a  few  goods  in  the  window  arranged 
simply,  and  then  changed  in  two  or  three  days. 

Every  man  knows  his  own  business  best ;  he  knows  the 
size  of  his  show-window  and  how  he  is  located;  he  knows 
what  kind  of  displays  will  prove  most  attractive  in  his 
section.  There  is,  however,  one  safe  rule  to  follow  re- 
garding show-windows,  and  that  is,  to  keep  them  scru- 
pulously neat  and  clean.  Do  not  be  afraid  of  overdoing 
the  matter  of  cleaning  up.  There  is  nothing  which  at- 
tracts more  than  a  jeweler's  window  which  is  clean  and 
filled  with  fresh  bright  goods,  and  one  is  encouraged  to 
enter  and  look,  even  although  a  purchase  is  not  contem- 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


47 


plated  at  that  time.  It  is  also  true  that  nothmg  will  do 
more  to  keep  people  out  of  a  store  tiian  an  untidy  looking 
window,  ffllcd  with  dirty  jewelry,  mounted  on  dusty,  fin- 
ger-maiked  cards.  The  writer  has  been  interested  when 
visiting  other  cities,  to  notice  the  jewelry  stores,  and  many 
stores  would  present  such  a  neglected  appearance  in  their 
show  windows,  that  one  would  involuntarily  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  he  "who  enters  here  leaves  hope  behind." 
To  the  observer  from  the  outside  it  would  not  seem  pos- 
sible that  any  valuable  knowledge  of  methods  of  con- 
ducting a  business  could  be  learned  in  such  a  place.  If 
jewelers  would  receive  such  an  impression,  so  others  out- 
side of  the  business  would  gain  the  same  idea  of  the  busi- 
ness ability  of  the  proprietor,  and  the  desirability  of  do- 
ing business  there. 


4» 


EVANS'S  ESS  A  YS. 


CHAPTER  XI. 


CARDS  FOR  THE  STORE  AND  WINDOW. 

Some  Practical  Suggestions  for  the  Making  and  the  Use  of 
a  Cheap  but  Eflfective  Form  of  Advertising— Be  Careful 
Not  to  Make  Sutements  You  are  Unwilling  to  Abide 
By. 

THERE  is  a  way  that  we  can  advertise  our  store  and 
outline  our  policy,  which  costs  but  a  nominal 
amount.  Reference  is  here  made  to  the  custom  of 
having  printed  or  written  cards  of  small  size,  which  we 
can  place  in  the  windows,  describing  the  goocb,  makmg 
appropriate  comments  on  prevailing  styles,  and  inform- 
ing our  customers  and  strangers  regarding  our  methods 
of  doing  business.  The  cards  which  we  will  USC  mside 
may  be  larger,  but  should  be  of  the  same  general  char- 
acter. ,  ^ 
Few  of  us  can  realize  the  power  of  suggestion,  or  the 
amount  of  information  some  people  will  gather  during  a 
visit  to  our  store,  or  even  from  looking  in  the  window. 
A  handsome  window  display  might  attract  loolrere,  but  if 
coupled  with  it  is  the  encouraging  invitation  to  Come  m, 
and  look,  whether  you  wish  to  buy  or  not,"  we  will  find  a 
large  number  will  accept  the  invitation  so  offered  and  wiU 
call  in,  and  while  at  the  Hme  it  may  seem  like  so  mucti 
time  wasted,  it  is  not,  for  before  we  can  have  buyers  we 
must  have  shoppers.  All  shoppers  are  not  purchasers, 
but  they  are  talkers,  and  can  spread  the  news  around  as 
to  what  is  particularly  new  and  proper  m  jewelry.  It 
the  people  are  with  you,  and. feel  favorably  toward  you, 
your  name  will  become  a  household  word  for  being  the 
most  wide-awake,  if  not  the  leading  jewelry  store  of 
the  town.  This  reputation  is  what  wc  arc  all  stnvmg 
for,  and  which,  if  once  attained,  the  prestige  of  such 
position  wiU  enable  us  to  obtain  and  hold  trade  that  is 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


49 


desirable  but  which  goes  with  the  crowd — ^in  fact,  the 
people  who  wish  to  have  their  jewelry,  purchases  come 
from  the  popular  jewelry  store. 

Whatever  you  say  on  these  cards,  mean  it,  and  do 
not  make  any  offer  that  you  are  not  wilUng  to  make  good. 
In  an  optical  paper  there  is  the  story  of  a  woman  who 
asked  the  optician  to  examine  her  eyes  and  tell  her  what 
glasses  she  needed,  so  that  she  could  go  to  the  ten  cent 
store  and  get  them.  Upon  his  refusal  to  comply  with  her 
request,  she  indignantly  pointed  out  to  him  his  sign, 
"Eyes  Examined  Free." 

Rightly  worded  signs  often  save  a  great  deal  of  con- 
versation. Take,  for  instance,  either  of  the  signs, 
"Positively  No  Credit,"  or  "Repair  Work,  Cash"  hung 
up  in  the  store,  and  which  a  great  many  will  read,  and 
take  the  matter  for  granted  without  asking  for  partic- 
ulars, but  if  the  jeweler  is  asked  for  credit,  the  mere  fact 
that  he  has  such  a  sign  displayed  makes  it  a  comparatively 
easy  matter  to  point  to  it,  and  inform  the  inquirer  that  it 
is  tic  custom  of  the  store  to  sell  for  cash  only,  or  to  de- 
liver repairs  only  when  the  fuU  amount  of  the  charges 
is  paid. 

While  not  advocating  the  filling  up  of  the  walls  with 
signs,  the  writer  believes  that  the  "signs  of  the  times" 
are  deserving  of  all  the  space  which  we  can  give  them. 
Another  sign  I  would  suggest  is  "Not  responsible  for 
work  left  over  thirty  days."  While  the  laws  do  not  pro- 
tect the  jeweler  regarding  the  selling  of  repair  work  for 
the  charges,  still  the  majority  of  people  are  not  cognizant 
of  this  fact,  and  these  we  can  hustle  up  a  little  about 
calling  for  their  work. 

A  few  samples-  of  what  these  cards  may  consist  may 
not  be  amiss: 

"We  study  to  please." 

"Your  satisfaction  is  our  satisfaction." 

"No  trouble  to  show  goods." 

"We  talk  but  little.    Our  pleased  customers  are  doing 
the  talking  for  us." 
"A  satisfied  customer  is  our  best  advertisement." 


50  EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


"To  sell  you  once  is  to  sell  you  always." 
"If  we  please  you  tell  others ;  if  not  tell  us." 
"We  would  rather  not  make  the  hrst  sale,  if  we  cannot 
hold  your  trade  and  induence  thereafter." 
"Watch  us  for  watches." 

"The  rings  here  shown  are  merely  a  sample  line.  We 
would  Uke  the  privilege  of  showing  your  our  complete 
line." 

"We  guarantee  our  rings  to  be  of  the  quality  stamped." 
"We  lead,  others  must  follow." 

"Let  us  help  you  to  decide  what  to  give  for  that  wed- 
ding present.    We  are  at  your  service." 

"Wedding  presents.  Any  article  selected  frcwn  our 
superb  stoSi  of  sterling  silver,  cut  glass  or  docks,  will 
make  a  pleasing  and  satisfactory  wedding  present." 

"Cash  prices,  not  catch  prices." 

"Not  how  cheap,  but  how  good." 

How  are  we  going  to  prepare  all  these  various  signs? 
Well,  if  we  wish,  we  can  buy  one  of  the  rubber  stamp 
sign  outfits  which  are  so  complete  in  every  detail  that 
with  any  degree  of  care  the  least  skillful  of  us  can  turn 
out  a  creditable  sign  in  tiie  space  of  ten  minutes  at  the 
outside.  For  those  who  dislike  bother  of  this  kind,  our 
friend,  the  professional  sign-writer,  will  be  found  ready 
and  willing  to  help  us  at  moderate  prices.  Our  small 
cards  in  the  window  we  will  have  written  or  printed  by 
the  best  pen  artist  in  our  employ.  The  cards  of  various 
kinds,  which  cost  but  a  little  time,  cardboard  and  ink, 
should  be  changed  often.  If  you  hit  upon  some  catch 
phrase,  and  find  the  public  take  to  it,  have  one  large  sign 
in  the  store  with  that  wording.  Occasionally,  signs  re- 
minding people  of  the  regular  work  we  do  should  be 
placed  in  the  window,  such  as  "Fine  Watch  Repairing," 
"Jewelry  of  every  description  made  and  repaired."  Care 
should  be  taken  to  say  nothing  that  will  offend.  Make 
your  "silent  salesman"  to  be  helpers  of  the  business. 
Do  not  try  to  be  funny  when  you  write  these  cards.  Be 
natural,  be  enthusiastic,  cheerful,  be  businesslitte.  Say 
just  what  you  mean  and  mean  just  what  you  sajr,  and  you 
will  find  that  these  cards  do  a  great  deal  of  work  for  you. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS.  it 


CHAPTER  XII. 


THE  DISPOSING  OF  OLD  STOCK. 

Reasons  for  its  Accumulation — How  Best  to  Get  Rid  of  it 
at  the  Least  Loss  to  the  Dealer — Considered  from  Dif- 
ferent Standpoints. 

WHILE  many  contend  that  in  die  jewelry  business 
there  is  no  such  thing  as  "old  stock,"  still 

some  of  the  trade  feel  that  they  have  the  evi- 
dence to  support  their  claims  that  there  is  such  stock,  and 
that  an  extra  effort  of  some  kind  is  necessary,  to  dispose 
of  it.  In  defense  of  the  position  that  there  is  no  ''old 
stock,"  the  argument  is  advanced  that  certainly  the  man 
who  made  the  article  liked  its  design,  and  surely  some 
one  else  will  come  along  who  will  think  the  same. 

From  whatever  standpoint  we  view  the  matter,  whether 
as  wholesaler  or  retailer,  we  must  admit  that  this  sub- 
ject is  of  vital  interest  and  importance  to  all. 

Before  considering  tiie  subject,  let  us  look  into  some 
of  the  ways  and  means  to  use  in  order  to  avoid,  as  far  as 
possible,  the  accumulation  of  old  stock.  Why  do  we  col- 
lect a  lot  of  old  stock?  It  is  not  generally  because  we 
buy  more  generously  than  we  ought?  If  an  article  is 
new  on  the  market,  or  the  demand  for  it  has  to  be  pro- 
duced, we  should  go  careful  in  our  buying,  unless  it  is 
a  commodity,  the  sale  of  which  we  can  have  control, 
in  which  case  it  often  pays  to  take  hold  and  advertise  it 
and  push  it  in  every  way  possible,  as  any  sales  resulting 
therefrom  will  redound  to  our  credit.  But  as  these 
cases  are  few  indeed,  we  will  dimiss'  them  from  further 
consideration.  We  should  buy  in  as  small  a  quantity  of 
a  new  article  as  will  enable  us  to  make  a  respectable 
showing.  And,  having  received  them,  do  not  place 
them  carefully  away  in  the  show  cases  and  wait  for  cus- 


S2  EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


tomers  to  come  in  and  call  for  them.  We  might  have  to 
wait  too  long.  There  are  people  who  always  like  to  be 
up-to-date,  and  will  buy  whatever  is  the  proper  thing  at 
that  partict^r  minute  for  that  very  reason.  If  we 
promptly  place  these  goods  in  our  window  and  advertise 
the  fact  that  new  goods  have  arrived,  and  mention  what 
is  new,  and  that  Siey  are  in  our  window,  perhaps  we 
will  not  have  so  many  of  them  left  when  the  fad  created 
for  them  is  over. 

I  think  the  experience  of  most  jewelers  is  that  the 
novelties  are  the  "stickers."  As  I  said  in  one  of  my  pre- 
vious articles,  there  is  a  certain  price  we  should  be  will- 
ing to  pay  for  being  up-to-date,  and  we  therefore  should 
not  kick  at  a  few  left-overs  in  novelties.  We  should  con- 
sider what  the  value  of  our  old  stock  is  before  we  adopt 
means  for  disposing  of  it.  Sometimes  it  would  be 
cheaper  to  pack  the  stuff  up  or  give  it  away,  instead  of 
trying  to  get  rid  of  it,  even  at  a  reduced  rice.  There 
are  certain  ways  of  disposmg  of  old  stock,  and  we  will 
now  consider  them. 

The  package  sale  is  familiar  to  most  of  us,  but  a  brief 
statement  of  the  method  of  conducting  one  will  not  be 
amiss.  Articles  of  different  values,  styles,  sizes,  etc., 
are  tied  up  into  packages,  and  are  offered  at  a  low  price. 
The  purchaser  buys  without  knowledge  of  Ac  contents 
of  the  package,  and  may  receive  an  article  he  can  use, 
or  one  he  can  not.  While  some  recomm«id  this  method 
highly,  I  do  not  think  the  after  effects  are  good.  The 
jeweler  has  lost  money  on  the  sale,  but  he  has  cleaned 
out  a  k>t  of  undesirable  stuff,  and  has  many  tunes  made 
a  lot  of  dissatisfied  customers.  While  some  purchasers 
are  gamblers  enough  to  enter  mto  the  spirit  of  it  and 
be  satisfied  whether  they  are  fortunate  or  not  in  their 
selection,  the  majority  of  people  buy  at  a  sale  like  this 
because  th^  expect  to  receive  big  returns,  and  fhey  are 
often  disappomted  and  dissatisfied  accordingly.  If  we 
are  not  in  too  great  a  hurry  to  dispose  of  it,  we  can  sell 
quite  a  lot  of  it  in  the  ordinary  methods  of  business. 
If  we  show  these  goods  with  our  other  goods,  some  will 
prefer  them.   In  any  case,  we  should  use  the  method 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS, 


S3 


which  will  have  the  least  injurious  after  effect.  ScHne 
believe  in  hdding  an  auction  sale.  Experience  is  a 
good  teacher,  and  we  all  have  to  find  out  some  things  for 
ourselves.  An  auction  sale  is  all  right  if  properly  con- 
ducted, but  it  is  distressing,  to  say  the  least,  to  see  ex- 
pensive goods  going  at  ruinously  low  prices.  How  is  the 
jeweler  coming  out?  The  auctioneer  will  generally 
suggest  that  he  sell  a  few  of  his  own  goods  and  on  thes'e 
a  profit  will  be  made.  The  jeweler  acquiesces,  and  finds 
that  these  goods  sell  easily  at  big  profits,  which  are 
divided.  And  so  the  sales  goes  on,  with  a  sale  from  the 
jeweler's  stock,  often  at  a  loss,  and  a  sale  of  a  plated 
watch  from  the  auctioneer's  stock,  at  a  profit  When 
the  sale  is  over,  who  stays  behind  to  make  good  the  de- 
fects in  the  wearing  quaUties  of  the  goods  which  have 
been  sold  ? 

I  think  a  good  way  to  do,  is  to  offer  an  article  which 
we  are  anxious  to  sell  at  a  reduced  price  to  a^  customer 
who  is  looking  for  a  present,  either  of  that  land  of  an 
article,  or  who  is  undecided.  Explam  to  him^  why  we 
are  willing  to  sell  it  lower  than  the  usual  price.  Td! 
liim  truthfully  that  we  have  had  it  in  stock  some  time, 
and  while  its  value  has  not  depreciated  because  we  are 
tired  of  seeing  it,  yet  we  are  willing  to  sacrifice  on  ft. 
In  nine  chances  out  of  ten  the  sale  will  be  made  and  the 
customer  will  be  satisfied.  It  is  policy  to  tell  him  that 
he  can  exchange  it  if  he  wbhes  to.  A  satisfied  cus- 
tomer is  what  we  want. 

A  good  way  to  avoid  having  "old  stock'  is  to  keep  the 
goods  clean  and  mounted  on  clean  cards,  with  clean  tags 
attached.  When  we  buy  in  new  goods,  before  putting 
them  in  stock  clean  up  all  the  similar  goods.  Then 
they  will  aH  appear  fresh  and  new.  Cards,  tags  and 
elbow  grease  are  inexpensive,  but  yet  how  necessary! 
Always  remember  that  if  we  keep  everlastingly  at  it, 
success  will  be  ours. 


54 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


CHAPTER  MIL 


THB  OPTICAL  SIDE  OF  A  RETAIL  STORE. 

The  Advantages  of  Fostering  the  Optical  Business — More 
Profitable  than  the  Jewelry  End  and  Also  a  Feeder 
Thereto— Moral,  It  is  Wise  to  Study  Optics. 

WE  often  hear  and  read  discussions  regarding  the 
advisability  of  a  retail  jeweler  carrying  this 
side  line  or  that.    Some  say,  be  a  specialist  and 

stick  to  one  business  only.  Others  advise  having  several 
departments  because  one  is  able  then  to  sell  to  the  same 
customers  goods  over  and  over  again  in  the  different 
lines  whereas  if  jewelry  alone  is  carried  the  sales  of 
necessity  are  limited.  So  we  find  trade  papers  advocat- 
ing stationery  departments,  camera  departments,  musi- 
cal and  art  goods,  statuary,  china,  bric-a-t)rac,  cut  glass, 
lamps,  etc.  There  is  of  course  a  reason  for  this.  Many 
articles  of  every  day  or  occasional  use,  which  ever^'  one 
buys  once  in  a  while,  are  not  of  such  material  or  designs 
that  they  properly  belong  in  any  particular  store.  So  all 
of  us  have  calls  for  goods  every  day  which  wc  do  not 
carry  in  stock,  and  we  tell  the  inquirer  so,  and  straight- 
way forget  about  it.  There  are  many  of  these  depart- 
ments vMch  one  might  add  prc^tably,  if  the  necessary 
space  is  contained  witSiin  his  storeroom. 

There  is  Ofoe  department  which  naturally  goes  with  the 
retail  jewelry  business,  and  which  the  average  customer 
expects  to  find  associated  with  it.  That  is  the  optical  de- 
partment. Years  ago  the  jeweler  carried,  in  connection 
with  his  jewelry  stock,  a  few  sdid  gM  frames,  and  a 
line  of  cheaper  glasses,  all  ready  fitted  tip,  whkh  were 
passed  out  to  the  customers  for  them  to  decide  which  pair 
best  suited  tihem.  This  was  all  right  until  people  h^m 
to  demand  better  methods  of  examinations  and  better  re- 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


5S 


suits  from  wearing  glasses.    Then  the  scientific  optician 
entered  the  field,  and  the  jeweler-optician's  business 
dwindled.    It  is  because  of  this  fact  that  so  many  jew- 
elers have  never  felt  encouraged  to  push  this  department, 
but  many  have  realized  its  possibilities  and  have  reaped 
tfieir  profits  thereby.    To  me  it  is  the  ideal  line  to  work 
in  with  jewelry,  for  several  reasons,   ilt  takes  up  but  lit- 
tle room  even  where  a  dark  room  is  used  in  connection 
with  it.    Every  one,  old  or  young,  whatever  their  desires 
or  inclinations,  must  sooner  or  later  adopt  the  custom  of 
wearing  glasses,  and  if  their  jeweler  is  prepared  to  min- 
ister to  their  wants,  it  is  but  natural  that  they  should  visit 
him,  because  of  their  acquaintance  and  confidence,  rather 
than  make  a  trip  to  an  optician  with  whom  they  are  not 
acquainted. 

•  While  many  people  are  still  of  the  opinion  that  a  cheap 
pair  of  glasses  will  do  them,  others  who  are  of  the  ma- 
jority, are  beginning  to  recognize  the  fact  that  eyesig:ht 
is  precious,  and  once  lost  can  never  be  recovered.  All 
this- makes  it  better  for  the  exclusive  optician  or  jeweler- 
c^ytician.    Good  prices  are  obtainable  for  j^ood  \vork,  and 
many  jewelers  have  found  it  more  profitable  to  push  this 
branch  of  their  business,  and  make  the  jewelry  depart- 
ment the  side  line.    And  it  is  not  altogether  a  question  of 
whether  or  not  one  is  satisfied  with  his  jewelry  business 
and  is  willing  that  others  may  handle  the  optical  de- 
mands.   If  one  of  our  customers  in  search  of  eye  helps 
goes  to  an  exclusive  optician,  you  have  merely  lost  the 
profit  on  that  particular  sale.    But  supposing  that  they 
visit  a  brother  jeweler  who,  in  connection  with  his  jew- 
elry business,  also  has  means  and  methods  for  examining 
the  eyes  and  making  necessary  corrections.    The  jeweler 
so  visited  probably  is  as  good  a  fellow  as  you  are,  and  by 
the  acquaintance  so  made  may  hold  the  trade  of  that  cus- 
tomer for  future  jewelry  purchases.    In  making  an  ex- 
amination of  the  eyes,  in  entering  the  results  on  the  rec- 
ord book,  together  with  the  name  of  the  patient,  in  fitting 
frames,  and  adjusting  them  afterwards,  the  optician  is 


56 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


given  an  opportunity  for  making  a  favorable  or  an  un- 
favorable impression.  If  the  former,  he  must  necessarily 
profit  on  future  sales.  One's  manner  in  granting  a  re- 
quest clearly  denotes  whether  it  is  an  act  of  willingness 
or  of  necessity.  Be  courteous  always.  It  "costs  little, 
does  much." 

Instances  where  customers  have  been  lost  through 
one's  inability  to  serve  them,  in  one  or  more  of  the  jew- 
eler's side  lines,  might  be  given.  If  for  no  other  reason 
than  that  of  holding  your  own  trade,  it  is  a  good  thing 
to  handle  optical  goods.  It  is  not  necessary  to  advertise 
this  department.  It  will  take  care  of  itself.  Your  cus- 
tomers will  notice  your  new  department,  or  at  least  it  is 
new  to  them,  because  they  have  just  become  aware  of  the 
fact  that  their  eyes  need  attention,  and  they  will  come  in 
and  say,  "You  test  the  eyes,  do  you  not?"  and  if  you  do, 
business  will  result  If,  because  of  your  inability  to  serve 
them,  you  send  them  to  other  jewelers  who  can,  and  you 
lose  your  profits  on  subsequent  sales,  where  do  you  come 
in?  Your  fellow  craftsmen  will  not  divide  profits  with 
you.  The  optical  business  fits  into  a  jewelry  store  more 
easily  than  any  other  line.  Then,  too,  the  time  necessary 
to  acquire  a  rudimentary  knowledge  of  means  and  meth- 
ods is  not  long.  Of  course  such  knowledge  is  merely 
theoretical,  but  while  that  is  valuaUe  it  is  easy  to  obtain 
that  practical  experience  which  quadruples  the  value 
our  theoretical  knowledge. 

Then,  again,  an  optical  department  is  valuable  aside 
from  its  immediate  profits.  It  makes  one  think,  and  de- 
vdops^  our  abilities  along  that  line,  and  also  develops 
one's  judgment,  and  teaches  him  to  rely  upon  himself, 
la  every  case  of  eye  fitting  there  exists  a  necessity  for 
exercising  one's  judgment.  We  are  all  liable  to  allow 
our  thinking  powers  to  relax  almost  beyond  recall,  unless 
the  necessity  exfsts  for  utilizing  our  thinking  parts. 

What  difference  does  it  make  to  you  whether  you  make 
a  couple  of  dollars  by  selling  a  watch  on  which  you  make 
a  small  per  cent,  compared  with  the  same  profit  on  a  pair 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS.  57 


of  glasses.  In  selling  a  watch,  you  get  nothing  for  your 
knowledge  of  goods  and  qualities,  but  in  selling  glasses 
you  are  paid  an  additional  price  for  the  knowledge  of 
what  to  prescribe. 

The  jewelers  who  have  handled  optical  goods  and 
fitted  eyes  scientifically,  need  no  advice  as  to  the  profita- 
bleness of  the  same.  They  have  the  experience.  But 
when  you  consider  the  small  amount  necessary  to  invest 
to  carry  a  stock  of  optical  goods,  and  the  returns  possible, 
it  seems  strange  that  more  jewelers  have  not  taken  ad- 
vantage of  it  ■ '  '  ^.  wm^-^ . 


58 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


CHAPTER  XiV. 


SAPB  GUARDING  OF  VALUABLES. 

In  Showing  Costly  Goods  Tradesmen  or  Clerks  Should  bt 
Alert  at  all  Time — Practical  Suggestions — Honest  People 
Will  Not  Take  Offense  at  Precantions  Against  Thieving. 

THE  jewelry  business,  like  all  oliier  kinds  of  busi- 
ness, has  both  its  advantages  and  disadvantages. 
Some  of  its  advantages  have  been  spoken  of  in 

previous  chapters.  Chief  among  the  things  that  may  be 
considered  a  disadvantage  is  the  variety  and  extent  of 
the  competition  existing.  Almost  every  department 
store,  gent's  furnishing  store  and  variety  stores  of  dif- 
ferent sorts  have  more  or  less  jewelry  for  sale.  There 
is,  however,  a  far  greater  peril  in  loss  in  conducting 
a  jewelry  business,  than  the  danger  of  losing  sales 
to  competitors.  It  is  the  danger  of  losing  through 
theft  an  amount  that  oftentimes  exceeds  the  profits  of  a 
year's  business.  The  jeweler  is  a  mark,  as  it  were,  for 
sneak  thieves  and  slight  of  hand  men.  There  is  no 
temptation  to  a  thief  to  steal  a  suit  of  clothes,  or  a  pair 
of  shoes,  because  of  the  difficulty  of  concealing  them 
during  a  flight.  But  the  thief  who  takes  two  or  three 
diamond  rings,  or  even  a  tray  of  them,  who  rushes  from 
the  store  and  mixes  with  the  crowd,  is  generally  soon 
lost  to  view. 

Jewelers  are  inclined  to  be  careless.  Despite  the 
warnings  of  the  newspapers,  the  Jewelers'  Security 
Alliance,  and  of  other  prominent  sources,  we  still  find  it 
to  be  the  practice  of  many  firms  to  leave  one  clerk  alone 
in  the  store,  and  often  that  one  is  inexperienced.  We  all 
learn  by  experience,  and  the  ones  most  habituated  to 
handling  trade  are  usually  less  apt  to  prove  easy  victims 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS, 


59 


to  the  workings  of  some  game  than  the  inexperienced. 
The  old  proverb,  "Believe  every  man  innocent  until  he 
is  proven  guilty,"  would  never  do  as  a  motto  by  which 
to  run  a  jewelry  store.   Unless  we  are  personally  ac- 
quaint^ with  a  customer,  we  should  exercise  the  great- 
est care  in  showing  goods.    Opportunity  often  makes 
the  thief.   Very  few  would  steal  if  they  thought  they 
would  be  caught  at  it,  or  caught  with  the  goods.   It  is 
a  good  idea  to  carefully  size  up  a  customer  before  you 
begin  to  show  the  goods.   It  is  an  easy  matter  to  do  this 
by  asking  a  few  questions  relative  to  the  class  of  goods 
which  the  customer  wishes  to  see.   You  then  have  a  fair 
idea  of  the  appearance  of  the  customer,  if  it  should  later 
prove  necessary  to  describe  him.   After  you  once  pro- 
duce the  goods,  your  attention  should  be  on  them  and 
not  on  the  customer.   The  fact  that  the  customer  is  look- 
ing at  the  goods  makes  it  a  fallacy  to  try  and  look  the 
customer  in  the  eye  while  you  are  talking  to  him.  Your 
inspiration  comes  from  the  goods.   You  must  look  at 
them  yourself,  to  be  able  to  discourse  upon  their  beauty, 
their  finish,  and  their  desirability.   This  is  the  time  that 
the  hands  of  your  customer  need  watching  more  than 
does  his  face.   All  a  crook  needs  is  a  fraction  of  a  sec- 
ond to  substitute  an  inferior  stone  for  a  diamond,  or  to 
slide  an  expensive  brooch  into  the  palm  of  his  hand.  He 
can  aff(M-d  to  look  at  you  if  you  will  look  at  him,  and 
take  your  eyes  from  the  goods.   When  diamonds  are 
being  shown,  it  is  a  good  idea  for  any  clerk  who  is  dis- 
engaged to  stand  near  act  hand.   He  naay  see  something 
whi(£  might  miss  the  eye  of  the  salesman  who  is  wait- 
ing on  the  customer.   Then  again,  if  another  clerk  is 
nigh,  it  will  do  away  widi  the  possibility  of  a  successful 
outcome  from  throwing  p^per  into  the  eyes  of  the 
salesman  showing  the  goods.   Most  tricks  are  worked 
when  few  are  present,  but  instances  could  be  related  of 
thefts  made  with  a  dozen  clerks  near  at  hand.  Thieves 
as  a  rule  would  radier  do  business  with  one  person.  An 
Instance  happened  in  a  store  recently  whc^  a  young 


6o 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS, 


man  entered  k  store,  apparently  in  charge  of  but  one 
clerk,  and  a^ed  to  be  shown  diamond  rings.  As  soon 
as  he  ssdd  diamond  rings,  another  cleric  moved  oat  of 
the  private  office  and  stationed  himself  further  up  the 
store  near  the  door.  The  young  man  never  {Mcked  up  a 
ring  or  asked  the  price.  He  said  he  would  call  again, 
and  as  he  left  the  store  he  signaled  up  the  street,  and  the 
cleric  stei^ing  to  the  door,  saw  his  partner  come  down 
the  street  and  join  him  further  along.  So  many  times 
we  have  all  read  the  different  methods  of  safeguarding 
our  goods,  that  it  seems  almost  unnecessary  to  further 
particularize,  but  a  few  rules  safe  to  follow  are  here 
given. 

Keep  expensive  goods  in  the  safe,  and  especially 
where  they  are  in  trays.  Show  such  goods  back  in  the 
store,  rather  than  near  the  door.  Never  leave  such 
goods  on  the  showcase  while  you  turn  for  others,  or 
while  you  reach  in  the  showcase.  It  is  a  simple  matter 
when  asked  to  show  something  different  to  lift  the  goods 
from  the  showcase,  and  this  should  not  give  offence  to 
any  honest  person.  Never  attempt  to  wait  upon  more 
than  one  customer,  or  one  set  of  customers  at  the  same 
time.  Some  people  who  are  not  in  league  with  a  dis- 
honest person,  will  often  unwittingly  act  as  assistant  to 
them.  A  cleric  is  busy  waiting  upon  a  customer,  show- 
ing diamond  rings,  when  Mr.  Jones  enters  and  asks  for 
his  wal^  which  is  being  repaired.  He  is  in  a  hurry, 
and  the  clerk  to  oblige  him,  leaves  his  tray  of  diamonds 
with  the  unknown  customer  while  he  finds  Mr.  Jones' 
watch.  Mr.  Jones  gets  his  watch ;  the  thief  substitutes 
a  ring,  and,  pushing  the  tray  to  the  clerk,  says  he  will 
call  again,  or  perhaps  in  the  excitement  he  departs  with 
the  entire  contents  of  ^  tray.  All  this  would  not  have 
happened  had  the  clerk  told  Mr.  Jones  to  watt  until  he 
was  through,  or  until  another  deiic  arrived.  Mr.  Jones 
might  have  felt  a  little  vexed  about  the  delay,  but  he 
would  recover  from  that  A  book  might  be  printed  re- 
citing instances  vriiere  jewelers  have  been  victimized. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


6t 


Always  be  ready  to  call  another  clerk  into  assistance 
when  people  ask  to  be  shown  goods  which  will  necessi- 
tate a  trip  to  another  part  of  the  store.  A  workman  or 
a  boy  can  hand  you  those  goods,  which  does  away  with 
the  necessity  of  your  leaving  goods  on  the  show  case  with 
the  customer. 

It  is  a  good  idea  to  have  mirrors  about  the  store  so 
that  when  it  is  necessary  to  turn  around  for  someUiing 
you  still  can  keep  the  customer  in  view.  Mirrors  stiould 
be  on  all  the  benches  or  in  front  of  them,  so  that  a  watch- 
maker, even  though  he  does  not  wait  on  trade,  may  yet 
have  his  eye  on  the  business.  Never  make  change  for 
a  stranger  unless  he  buys  something,  and  when  you  do 
make  change  for  a  customer  do  not  alter  it.  It  has  cost 
some  business  men  from  five  to  twenty  dollars  to  take 
back  a  bunch  of  change  which  looks  like  the  change  they 
have  just  given,  and  give  back  the  original  bill  to  the 
customer,  who  has  meanwhile  abstracted  several  bills 
from  the  bottom. 

Because  of  the  immense  value  contained  in  little  space, 
the  jeweler's  stock  presents  itself  as  a  shining  maik  for 
the  dishonest  person;  and,  as  many  believe,  because  of 
the  expensive  goods  which  he  sells,  that  the  jeweler  is 
comparatively  wealthy,  they  steal  from  him  without  evai 
a  twinge  of  conscience.  It  is  easier  to  keep  your  goods 
in  the  safe  and  away  from  such  people,  than  it  is  to  re- 
cover them  when  once  lost. 


6a 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


CHAPTER  XV. 


HOW  THB  SOUVENIR  CRAZB  HBLP8  TRADB. 

Still  Good  Business  in  Souvenir  Spoons — Medium  Price  Ar- 
ticles Will  Please  the  Most  and  Show  Greatest  Profits 
— ^uvenirs  Make  Good  Presents. 

EVERY  year  we  are  in  business  enq^iasizes  the 
fact  that  there  is  a  demand  for  souvenir  goods, 
and  that  the  average  seeker  after  a  souvenir  of 
any  calibre  looks  to  the  jeweler  to  furnish  the  same. 
There  are  unquestionably  countless  numbers  of  cheap 
souvenirs  sold  by  the  fancy  goods  and  dry  goods  stores. 
With  these,  however,  we  do  not  try  to  or  wish  to  c(xn- 
pete.  The  visitor  to  our  city,  wishing  to  take  home  a 
memento  of  the  visit  to  wife,  mother,  sister  or  sweetheart, 
does  not  visit  the  5  and  10  cent  store  to  try  and  find  what 
he  is  looking  for.  He  begins  the  rounds  o<  the  jewelry 
stores,  and  the  one  best  prepared  to  meet  his  require- 
ments is  the  gainer  thereby. 

How  many  jewelry  stores  are  prepared  to  satisfy  this 
demand  even  with  a  single  souvenir  of  their  own  town? 
One  trouble  with  the  jewelry  trade  is,  that  they  e3q)ect 
to  move  novelties  and  side  lines  with  greater  rapidity 
than  they  even  dare  hope  to  do  with  r^ular  goods.  It 
is  perhaps  for  this  reason  that  the  trade  generally  have 
let  souvenir  goods  alone.  But  when  you  stop  to  con- 
sider the  small  amount  of  capital  really  necessary  to  en- 
able one  to  carry  a  ccnnparatively  complete  tine  of  these 
goods,  it  is  surprising  that  more  stores  have  not  taken 
hold  of  them. 

In  every  town  there  are  public  buildings,  monuments, 
or  historical  places  which  nudce  good  subjects  for  souve- 
nirs. The  Town  Hall,  Court  House,  Armory,  Hospital, 
High  School,  College  or  Fraternity  buildings,  all  make 
good  material  for  souvenir  goods.  These  may  take  the 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS.  63 


form  of  tea  or  coffee  spoons,  bonbon  spoons,  paper 
weights,  pin  trays  and  so  on  with  the  building  either  en- 
graved or  photographed  thereon. 

If  we  try  to  handle  souvenirs  at  all,  we  want  to  keep  a 
good  selection  of  subjects  on  hand  so  that  we  can  sell  to 
the  same  people  over  and  over  again,  which  we  cannot 
do  if  we  have  only  one  kind  of  a  souvenir. 

Our  presidents,  especially  Washington  and  the  mar- 
tyred ones,  are  first-class  material  for  souvenir  subjects. 
By  having  these  goods  in  stock  in  variety,  we  can  start 
some  people  collecting  these  goods.    Of  course  some 
may  say  that  souvenir  spoons  have  had  their  day,  be- 
cause there  was  such  a  fad  for  them  about  ten  or  twelve 
years  ago.    But  at  that  time  every  store  was  pushing 
for  the  business.    Now  there  are  so  many  who  are  will- 
ing to  believe  that  this  trade  is  beyond  resuscitation,  and 
are  perfectly  willing  to  concede  it  to  others,  that  it  will 
pay  some  jeweler  in  every  town,  more  enterprising  than 
the  rest,  to  prepare  himself  to  fill  the  demand  for  these 
goods.    It  is  a  good  idea  to  try  and  have  your  store 
noted  for  some  one  thing,  and  have  it  spoken  of  as  the 
headquarters  for  such  and  such  lines  of  goods.    In  every 
large  city  we  see  several  stores  lauded  in  their  advertise- 
ments as  "the  Leading  Jewelers,"  or  as  ''Diamond  Jew- 
elers," or  as  the  "Watch  Store."    Any  of  us  can  claim 
these  distinctions,  which  in  reality  are  not  such,  as  we 
aU  carry  diamonds  and  watches,  but  a  jeweler  in  shape 
to  provide  the  public  wkh  souvenir  goods,  can,  with  per- 
fect propriety,  commend  himself  to  the  trade,  as  the 
"Souvenir  Store."  This  trade  may  not  seem  worth  going 
after,  but  it  is  worth  trying.   One  might,  when  we  con- 
sider the  number  of  watches  which  have  been  sold,  just 
as  well  give  up  the  sale  of  watches,  on  the  theory  that 
every  one  who  wants  a  watch  has  one. 

We  have  all  heard  of  the  folly  of  straining  at  gnats 
and  swallowing  camels.  It  h  a  good  deal  that  way  with 
all  of  us  in  the  matter  of  the  stock  we  carry.  We  buy  in 
lots  of  the  more  expensive  goods,  and  th«i,  as  a  matter 


64 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


of  ecQn(»ny,  let  our  stodc  in  some  of  the  lower  priced 
goods  rttn  down.  The  place  to  economize  is  in  large 
things.  The  more  of  medium  class  goods  we  handle, 
the  more  customers  we  are  prepared  to  serve,  and  the 
more  calls  we  will  have  for  more  expensive  goods, 
which,  if  we  have  not  in  stock,  we  can  quiddy  get 

In  returning  to  the  contemplaticxi  of  die  souvenir  bus- 
iness I  will  say  that  it  will  certainly  surprise  you,  and  it 
will  be  a  pleasant  surprise,  to  find  on  how  many  occa- 
sions that  you  will  find  that  your  self-suggestion  of  a 
souvenir  article  to  a  customer,  who  perhaps,  has  not 
asked  for  anything  particuUu*,  will  interest  hinh  For 
birthday  presents,  for  Christmas  presents,  for  graduation 
presents,  and  many  odier  kinds,  these  goods  will  be 
found  acceptable  aiui  for  a  price  to  meet  lie  popular  de- 
mand. 

Some  customers  who  have  to  buy  a  present  meet  each 
suggestion  you  offer,  with,  "she  has  a  ring;"  "she  has  a 
br»:elet,"  and  so  on,  untO  you  practically  give  up  the 
idea  of  making  the  sale  and  recommend  Cerent  goods, 
m  a  half-hearted  way.  But,  if  in  stock,  there  are  sou- 
venirs of  the  best  the  town  affords,  you  have  the  oppor- 
tunity  of  offering  something  which,  while  not  enthrly 
useful,  still  fills  the  bill,  so  fau*  as  the  intending  purchaser 
is  concerned.  After  one  sale  is  made  in  this  way,  of  this 
class  of  goods,  you  will  probably  sell  to  that  same  co»- 
tomer  over  and  over  again,  as  occaskm  demands,  not 
only  souvenir  goods  but  more  expensive  ones  as  well. 

The  former  resident  of  the  town  on  a  return  visit  gen- 
erally wants  mementoes  to  carry  back  as  souvenirs  of  his 
trip.  You  can  sell  them.  The  resident  of  the  town,  go- 
ing away,  will  take  some  of  your  souvenirs  along  for  the 
friends  to  be  visited.  The  visitor  to  your  city,  from 
near  at  hand,  will  want  a  spoon- with  the  bowl  engraved 
with  some  building  visited  while  tarrying  with  you. 

Fifty  dollars  will  give  you  a  fair  assortment  of  the 
souvenirs,  which  you  can  strengthen  as  you  find  that  it 
pays  you  to  do  so. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


65 


Some  of  the  souvenir  houses  make  spoons  for  the  dif- 
ferent fraternities,  such  as  MascMiic,  Odd  Fellows  and  so 
on.  These  generally  sell  well  to  members  and  their 
friends. 

Remember,  that  it  does  not  make  any  particular  differ- 
ence to  you  what  you  sell  your  customers,  so  long  as  you 
are  giving  them  value  received  for  their  money.  Be  on 
the  alert  to  grasp  opportunities  before  they  get  by  you. 
Be  the  leader  in  your  town.  Do  not  follow  if  you  can 
help  it,  but  do  not  be  afraid  to  follow  where  others  lead 
successfully. 


66 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


CHAPTER  XVL 


SIDE  LINES  IN  A  JEWELRY  STORE. 

How  They  Can  Be  Uied  to  Advantage— Some  Lines  Which 
Shorn  Not  Be  Taken  On— The  Special  Linea  Whkh 
Fit  WeU  Into  tiie  Jewelry  Bnaineaa  To-Day. 

IN   this  age.  of  progress   and   eternal  hustle,  men 
eagerly  scire  at  ahnost  anything  which  they  think 
will  pay  a  profit  and  place  it  among  their  wares. 
On  account  of  lack  of  room  in  most  cases,  the  jeweler 
is  usually  skw  to  branch  out  into  kindred  lines,  and 
sticks  more  to  the  staples.   For  a  conservative  business 
this  is  aU  right   Of  course  we  could  never  begin  to 
carry  the  different  lines  of  goods  for  which  we  have  call, 
but  if  there  seems  to  be  a  demand  for  articles  from  our 
cstabUshment  which  we  have  not  in  stock,  it  would  seem 
to  me  that  it  would  pay  us  to  lay  in  a  few  of  them  so  as 
to  be  able  to  fill  succeeding  demands.    Russell  Conwell, 
in  a  lecture  called  "Acres  of  Diamonds,"  tells  the  story 
of  himself  as  a  boy  waiting  on  the  customers  in  his 
father's  store  and  how,  one  day,  when  his  father  was 
away,  he  had  three  calls  for  jackknives,  to  each  caller 
he  explained  that  thev  did  not  sell  jackknives.    He  says 
that  if  he  had  been  alive  to  his  opportunities,  he  would 
have  had  a  jackknife  ready  for  the  third  man  when  he 
called.    What  difference  does  it  make  to  us  what  wc  sell, 
so  long  as  we  give  the  public  value  received  for  th«r 
cash,  'it  may  be  that  our  store  is  located'wherc  wc  could 
sell  a  great  many  more  of  some  things  thMi  wc  do  of 
articles  directly  in  the  jewelry  business.   All  of  us  have 
seen  the  graduation  of  some  of  our  tradcsnwn  from  the 
jewelry  business  into  the  bicycle  business,  froni  that  to 
the  camera  business,  and  from  cameras  to  the  piano  and 
musical  instrument  business. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


67 


Naturally,  we  will  be  solicited  by  commercial  travelers, 
urging  us  to  put  in  their  goods  as  a  side  line.  We 
should  go  slow  in  buying  goods  about  which  we  are  not 
acquainted,  as  very  often  our  experience  will  cost  us 
quite  a  sum.  We  may  find  that  we  have  Sought  out-of- 
date  goods,  or  paid  a  price  which  witii  our  profit  added 
will  place  us  so  far  above  the  market  tiiat  we  will  not  be 
aUe  to  sell  the  goods.  On  side  lines,  we  should  make 
our  profit  very  moderate,  as  we  do  not  want  to  acquire, 
through  their  sale,  the  reputation  of  being  high-priced. 

There  are  some  lines  which  the  writer  would  not  ad- 
vocate selling  in  a  jewelry  store.  Take  for  instance, 
pocket  knives  of  the  cheap  variety,  mouth  organs  or  bi- 
cycles. The  comer  cigar  store  handles  the  first  two  and 
bicycles  have  no  place  in  a  jewelry  business  nothwith- 
standing  the  fact  that  some  of  the  trade  successfully  con- 
ducted bicycle  departments.  Imagine  a  workman  who 
has  been  adjusting  the  bearings  of  a  bicycle  and  has  a 
customer  walk  in  who  wishes  to  look  at  diamonds.  He 
is  in  no  condition  to  wait  on  her  until  he  has  washed  his 
hands  and  taken  off  his  apron.  Another  line  which  we 
should  not  be  tempted  to  put  in  is  a  case  of  perfumery. 
The  drug  store  is  fully  equipped  to  satisfy  the  public 
craving  for  this  toilet  article  and  we  only  cheapen  our 
store  when  we  put  it  in  stock. 

There  are  some  lines  which  naturally  work  in  with  the 
jewelry  business,  such  as  optical  goods,  fidd  glasses, 
opera  glasses,  microscopes,  magnifiers,  compasses,  tele- 
scopes and  like  articles.  Statuary  and  bric-a4)rac  help 
to  give  a  store  an  attractive  and  artistic  appearance,  cost 
moderately,  and  find  ready  sales.  So,  too,  with  vases,  in 
silver  plate  and  the  various  kinds  of  ware.  The  profit 
on  them  is  not  all  wc  get  from  having  them  in  a  store. 
Their  appearance  gives  a  store  Ac  air  of  prosperity,  and 
completeness  of  stock. 

A  properly  conducted  stationery  department,  run  in 
connection  with  a  card  engraving  department,  will  pav 
handsome  returns,  and  will  bring  to  your  store  a  class  of 
trade  who  appreciate  just  the  class  of  goods  which  a  jew- 
eler lumdlcs,  and  whom  it  would  be  hard  to  attract 


68  EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


tiirough  the  ordinary  channels.  If  we  conduct  such  a 
department,  we  should  arrange  to  sell  only  the  best  qual- 
ity of  paper,  and  if  we  cannot  do  the  plate  engraving  on 
the  premises,  we  should  connect  ourselves  with  a  house 
who  not  only  will  do  first-class  work,  but  who  will  be  as 
prompt  about  returning  work  as  the  average  business 
man  is  about  sending  out  his  statements  each  month. 
Promptness  in  this  department  means  cvcrvthing,  as  if 
the  work  is  well  d<»e,  the  prices  right,  and  you  can  be 
depended  upon  to  have  the  cards  or  invitations  ready  at 
the  time  promised,  your  trade  will  be  materially  in- 
creased. 

Many  jewelers  have  found  cameras  and  supplies  to 
sell  readily,  and  it  works  in  very  nicely  with  the  jewelry 
business.  I,f  we  start  ^is  line  we  should  try  to  have  ex- 
clusive sale* of  any  specialties  which  we  can,  as  we  will 
be  sure  erf  a  fair  profit  on  them.  Music  boxes  of  the 
American  make  either  to  set  on  tables,  or  the  large  stand- 
ing ones,  are  certainly  a  line  which  a  jeweler  can  handle 
profitably,  and  which  he  can  get  considerable  use  out  of 
while  they  rest  in  his  store.  They  please  customers  and 
advertise  themselves.  The  sheets  of  music,  which  can 
be  sold  afterward,  pay  a  handsome  profit,  another^  line 
often  called  for  is  thermometers,  and  if  a  jeweler  wishes 
to  carrv  a  few  good  ones,  he  will  find  that  they  not  only 
pay  a  fair  profit,  but  keep  well  in  stock,  and  look  attract- 
ive on  the  wall. 

One  important  thing  we  should  remember,  and  that  is 
keep  good  articles  in  whatever  lines  we  add  to  our  store. 
So  far  as  cheap  stuff  is  concerned,  there  are  enough 
stores  handling  it,  and  there  are  just  enough  people  who 
want  better  goods,  to  make  it  pay  the  jewdcr  to  have  the 
better  class  of  goods  for  these  customers.  Figure  on  the 
show  these  goods  make  for  you,  as  compared  with  their 
cost.  Do  not  expect  them  to  sell  more  rapidly  than 
goods  which  you  have  been  m  the  habit  of  carrying  m 
stock  for  years.  If  possible,  keep  a  record  of  the  goods 
sold  bv  the  extra  department,  and  notke  whether  it  pays 
for  itself  or  not,  and  whether  it  ^  pay  you  to  continue 
it  or  not.  / 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS.  69 


Finally,  to  sum  it  up.  If  you  add  side  lines,  add  those 
whose  goods  will  help  the  appearance  of  your  store.  Sell 
good  quality  goods  at  very  reasonable  prices,  and  to  your 
profit  in  cash  add  a  reasonable  amount  for  the  show 
which  these  goods  make.  In  some  lines  $100  invested 
will  give  your  store  the  appearance  of  ten  or  twenty  times 
as  much  invested  in  jewelry  or  kindred  articles. 


70 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


THB  JEWELER  AND  HIS  PROFIT. 

He  Should  Strike  a  Happy  Medium  of  Profit  for  the  Work 
Entailed  and  Capital  Invested,  But  Should  Not  Cut 
Prices — Some  Points  to  be  Considered. 

BEFORE  considering  our  subject  let  us  go  back  a 
little  and  investigate  the  events  leading  up  to  it. 
Once  in  a  while  a  man  with  considerable  capital 
on  his  hands,  and  with  no  particular  knowledge  of  the 
jewelry  business,  launches  into  the  business,  and,  in  a 
comparatively  short  time,  generally  speaking,  his  cred- 
itors have  this  money  and  he  has  the  experience.  It  is 
because  of  this  fact  in  all  branches  of  trade,  to  a  greater 
or  lesser  extent,  that  so  many  writers  keep  hammcrmg 
away  the  advice,  "  never  invest  your  mcmey  in  a  busi- 
ness you  are  not  thoroughly  trained  in."  Tht  jew- 
elry business,  however,  differs  from  most  others  m 
t.'ie  fact  that  its  storekeepers  arc  usually  men  tram^ 
into  the  business,  either  with  a  knowledge  of  watch  and 
clock  repairing-,  or  jewelry  work,  or  perhaps,  with  a 
sprinkling  of  'all.  Why  then  is  it  that  these  men  es- 
pecially prepared  are  unable  to  make  money  out  of  their 
investments,  as  others  who  are  in  a  busmess,  for  which 
they  have  no  special  aptitude,  and  which  is  not  comiected 
with  repair  departments  that  are  turning  in  substantial 
amounts.  It  must  be  because  of  poor  management  or 
lack  of  business  ability ;  or  the  jewder  should  certainly 
make  money.  His  repair  departments  alone  should  pay 
his  expenses,  and,  perhaps  a  little  more.  Why  then  is  it 
that  jewelers  generally  are  short  of  money  and  huy  on 
long  time?  If  it  were  not  for  the  repair  deparUnents 
half  of  the  jewelry  stores  would  suspend  immediately. 

This  brings  me  back  to  my  subject  proper.  The  jew- 
eler is  not  getting  the  profit  he  is  entitled  on  his  goo^ 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


71 


There  are,  of  course,  exceptional  cases  where  an  enor- 
mous profit  is  asked  and  obtained,  although  these  latter 
cases  are  few  indeed.  The  small  jeweler  is  partly  to 
blame  for  the  knowledge  of  watches  which  is  spread 
through  the  land.  He  has  a  call  for  instance  of  a  high 
grade  watch  which  he  does  not  have  in  stock,  and  the 
customer  will  not  wait  until  he  gets  it  for  him,  yet  the 
latter  condescends  to  ask  him  how  much  he  ought  to  pay 
for  it.  The  jeweler  quotes  him  a  close  price,  and,  with 
this  lever  to  use,  the  buyer  oftentimes  gets  his  watch,  at 
practically  cost  to  the  jeweler  fftmi  whom  he  buys. 

There  are  several  things  to  remember  in  pricing  our 
goods. 

First :  The  lasting  qualities  of  the  same.  In  an  average 
lifetime,  how  many  watches,  does*  a  man  buy?  Perhaps 
two  or  three.  Why  then  should  he  buy  them  without 
pa)  ing  the  dealer  a  reasonable  profit?  The  railroad  man 
for  example,  has  but  one  tool  to  buy  and  that  is  his 
watch;  and  yet,  he  so  begrudges  paying  the  jeweler  a 
profit,  that  he  travels  from  store  to  store,  in  the  various 
towns  where  he  stops,  until  he  finds  the  lowest  priced 
place,  and  then  buys.  He,  and  all  others  to  whom  we 
sell  watches,  require  a  great  deal  of  after  attention  in 
the- way  of  regulating  and  so  on  for  which  the  jeweler 
receives  nothing. 

Second :  The  guarantees  which  a  jeweler  really  has  to 
place  on  goods;  to  accomplish  a  sale,  demand  that  he 
shall  receive  a  reasonable  profit 

Third :  The  engraving  has  to  be  thrown  in,  as  that  is 
demanded,  even '  on  the  smallest  purchases.  Few  of  us 
realize  the  amount  of  this  work,  or  its  value  in  a  year, 
unless  we  send  it  out  and  have  bills,  come  in  for  it 

Fourtfi :  The  dianging  of  goods,  and  altering  of  sizes 
of  rings,  and  so  on. 

Fiffi:  The  work  necessary  to  keep  a  stock  in  sale- 
able condition,  the  capital  invested  therein,  the  fact  of 
having  to  place  all  valuable  goods  in  safes  at  night, 
and  place  them  in  tfie  cases  and  windows  in  the 
morning.   His  one  duty  akme  (which  no  other  kind« 


72 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


of  stores  have  to  do),  entails  considerable  amount  of 
valuable  time  during  the  business  year. 

Sixth:  In  no  other  line  of  trade  is  so  much  actual 
value  given  in  the  goods  as  in  this  of  ours.  Take  a  dia- 
mond or  a  watch.  After  having  it  for  years,  and  tiring 
of  it,  the  owner  can  recover  the  greater  proportion  of  his 
money,  and  during  the  last  few  years  on  a  diamond,  he 
could  even  sell  at  a  profit  many  times.  How  does  this 
compare  with  any  other  line.  Bicycles,  pianos,  furni- 
ture, clothing  or  any  thing  you  can  think  of.  For  some 
reason  or  other  the  jewery  business  has  always  been 
credited  with  demanding  exorbitant  profits.  Of  course 
ideas  differ  as  to  what  c(Mistitutes  a  fair  profit  Some 
people  are  satisfied  with  three  per  cent,  as  Ae  match  boy 
said,  who  boug^it  matches  at  one  cent  per  box  and  sdd 
them  for  four  cents. 

The  difference  between  the  cost  and  selling  price  of 
an  artide  is  not  the  profit  Look  over  your  books,  and 
tuadct  what  your  expenses  are  for  a  year,  and  then  tak- 
ing die  net  cost  of  your  goods  sold  during  the  same 
pmod  and  figure  what  per  cent  to  add  to  your  goods; 
you  should  tart  the  actual  cost  before  you  add  on  the 
percentage  of  profit  you  are  entitled  to.  The  mannfac- 
turer  and  wholesaler  both  know  that  it  costs  a  certain 
amount  to  sell  goods  but  the  retailer  evidently  does  not 
so  figure,  or  we  would  not  hear  of  valuable  railroad 
watches  being  sold  at  a  profit  of  onfy  one  dollar.  It  is 
not  necessary  to  overcharge  customers.  There  is  a 
happy  medium  between  the  two  extremes  of  overcharg- 
ing and  the  giving  of  goods  %way.  We  are  entitled  to  a 
fair  prc^t,  and,  if  we  cannot  get  it  let  the  customer  go 
elsewhere.  Don't  "dicker."  Many  figure  that  if  a  cus- 
tomer leaves  the  store  without  purchasing,  that  tihey  are 
practically  out  of  pocket  the  difference  between  the  cost 
and  the  offer  made,  so  they  accept  the  cut  and  make  the 
sale.  Once  in  a  while  you  will  meet  a  man  who  will  try 
to  beat  you  down,  but  failing  to  do  so,  will  buy  wHh  the 


{Mice."  People  get  mtk  and  tired  of  bemg  confidentially 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS.  73 


told,  "the  price  to  you  is  one  dollar  less."  A  cut  made 
to  a  customer  once,  means  that  he  buys  at  a  reduced 
price,  ever  after.  There  is-  an  instance  in  my  mind 
which  illustrates  that  the  price-cutter  does  not  always 
effect  a  sale.  A  young  man  was  much  taken  with  a  gold 
filled  watch  with  a  seven  jewel  movement  which  sold  in 
A*s  store  for  $18.50,  but  before  buying  thought  he  would 
look  around.  He  stepped  into  B's  and  was  shown  a 
watch  answering  the  same  description  for  $22.  The 
young  man  informed  the  jeweler  that  he  could  buy  the 
same  watch  for  $18.50 ;  B  promptly  said  he  would  make 
the  price  $18  and  put  in  a  fifteen  jewel  movement.  This 
was  too  much  of  a  "cut"  for  the  young  man.  He 
started  back  for  the  first  place,  and  made  his  purchase. 

This  story  is  merely  intended  to  illustrate  that  the 
bu>ing  of  jewelry  is  a  matter  of  confidence,  rather  than 
price.  A  favorable  opinion  is  generated  in  the  mind  of 
the  customer,  regarding  the  merits  of  the  jeweler's 
goods  and  of  the  jeweler  himself,  if  he  declines  to  make 
a  cut  in  price  to  effect  a  sale.  The  result  of  this  con- 
fidence is  shown  by  future  sales  to  the  same  customer, 
at  a  profit. 

How  many  watchmakers  who  after  years  of  saving 
from  their  salaries  and  entering  the  business  for  them- 
selves, and  with  all  their  savings  invested  get  less  from 
busines-s  and  work  harder  than  they  did  in  their  former 
positions?  This  ought  not  to  be  so.  Other  branches  of 
business  charge  a  larger  profit  than  we  do,  and  their 
goods  have  to  be  bought  over  and  over  again.  If  the 
jewelers  would  only  adopt  a  code  of  ethics  similar  to 
the  professions  regarding  customs  and  charges,  we 
would  all  be  better  off.  We  should  have  fixed  prices 
for  goods,  and  hold  to  those  prices. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


CHAPTER  XVIIL 


THE  BASIS  FOR  CREDIT. 

Tbm  Diiference  of  Wholesale  and  Retail  Credit  Discussed^ 
little  Difficulty  Usually  in  Getting  Goods  on  Credit- 
Therefore  Caution  is  Most  Necessary— If  Credit  it  Givent 
Keep  Cloee  Track  of  Your  Customers. 

CASH  and  credit  are  familiar  terms  to  all  business 
men.  Some  dealers  make  a  specialty  of  the 
credit  business,  knowing  that  while  they  are  tak- 
ing risks  all  the  time,  many  of  which  are  uncertain,  yet 
the  increased  prints  obtainable  from  such  sales  under 
such  circumstances,  justifies  them  in  their  conduct. 
Credit  is  a  short  word ;  but  it  means  a  great  deal.  \V  ith- 
out  it  business  would  be  hampered  to  a  great  extent, 
and  manywould  be  unable  to  contmue.  But  what  is 
credit?  What  is  it  that  leads  a  man  m  New  York 
to  ship  his  goods  to  San  Francisco,  to  an  unknown 
man,  whom  he  has  never  seen?  He  has  confidence 
in  the  man's  integrity  and  his  good  intentions  In- 
tentions,  however,  count  for  little.  We  have  all  heard 
of  a  certain  place  that  is  paved  with  good  intentions. 
But  a  wilHngness  to  pay,  and  a  desire  to  keep  even  with 
the  world,  is  certainly  one  of  the  means  of  establishing 
credit.  But  to  the  average  credit  man  it  is  ability  rather 
than  intentions  which  count ;  for,  if  a  man  is  able  to  pay, 
they  will  usually  see  that  he  does  pay,  whether  or  not  he 
wishes  to.  But  while  the  retail  jeweler  is  often  ruined 
by  extending  credit  indiscriminately,  it  is  also  probably 
true  that  more  are  ruined  by  having  too  much  credit 
thrust  upon  them.  There  is  one  particular  trouble  with 
the  jewelry  business.  There  is  scarcely  any  limit  to  the 
amount  of  stock  which  one  may  carry  in  a  comparatively 
small  store.  Other  lines  of  business  either  have  to  build 
on  additions  or  keep  their  stock  within  reasonable  limits. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


Not  so  the  jeweler.    The  goods  shown  him  app^l  to  his 
artistic  eye ;  he  appreciates  the  workmanship  which 
been  put  on  them;  they  -re  the  class  of  goods  he  would 
like  to  sell ;  and  so,  encouraged  by  offers  of  dating  he 
puts  them  in  stock.    Perhaps  his  purchase  is  a  necklace 
of  pearls,  or  a  diamond  tiara,  which  takes  up  but  little 
space  and  runs  into  the  thousands  of  dollars.    He  puts 
it  in  a  tray  with  other  goods,  or,  perhaps  on  account  of 
its  CTeat  value,  he  puts  it  in  the  safe  for  protection  from 
thieves.    He  doesn't  sell  it,  but  still  he  has  the  indebted- 
ness  for  it  hanging  over  him  for  months,  and  perhaps 
sets  still  farther  behind  with  other  payments,  because  of 
other  purchases  of  like  goods,  that  he  may  be  forced  to 
the  wall  or  acquire  the  reputation  of  being  slow. 

In  extending  credit  the  jeweler  should  be  careful  not 
to  urge  e3q)ensive  goods  upon  people  who  cannot  afford 
their  ownership.  Of  course  if  a  man  is  practically  free 
from  debt,  and  has  a  large  stock,  he  can  afford  to  take 
occasional  chances  in  giving  credit,  which  he  cannot  af- 
ford to,  nor  has  he  the  right  to,  if  he  owes  a  large 

amount  to  creditors.  A-ff^r-^r^t 
Giving  credit  m  the  retail  busmess  is  a  very  different 
matter  from  giving  it  in  the  wholesale  business,  ihe 
wholesaler  knows  where  his  customers  are  generally 
even  if  he  cannot  collect  his  accounts ;  but  a  retailer  s 
customers  change  around  so,  and  move  so  easily,  and  so 
unostentatiously,  that  he  sometimes  cannot  locate  them, 
let  alone  cdkct  what  is  due. 

A  man  can  perhaps  afford  to  do  a  certain  proportion 
of  his  business  on  credit.  He  should,  however,  have 
definite  understandings  with  his  several  customers  re- 
garding ame  of  payment.  These  should  be  entered  with 
the  account  and  a  memorandum  book  or  pad  should  be 
used  to  keeo  track  of  the  different  accounts  du<t  at  dif- 
ferent times.  The  same  method  can  be  practiced  with 
our  accounts  with  our  wholesalers.  When  a  bill  of 
goods  is  bought  or  received,  enter  name  and  the  amount 
less  the  discount  under  the.  date  in  the  memorandum 


76 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


book  or  pad,  when  it  will  be  due.  When  that  day  ar- 
rives it  is  immediately  brought  to  our  mind,  and  the  ac- 
count is  paid,  if  we  have  the  money ;  if  not,  we  can  refer 
to  our  memorandum  of  accounts  receivable,  and  find  out 
what  there  is  due  according  to  agreements  with  custom- 
ers. This  simplifies  collections.  Another  good  point 
about  keeping  accounts  coming  due  constantly  before  us, 
is,  that  we  will  oftentimes  be  prevented  from  making 
purchases  which  are  unnecessary,  because  bdng  con- 
scious of  indebtedness  coming  due,  we  will  be  extremely 
cautious  about  purchasing,  and  will  buy  only  what  is 
needed  for  immediate  use. 

There  is  never  any  difficulty  about  buying  goods  for 
a  jewelry  store,  unless  it  may  be  occasionally  some 
grades  of  watch  movements,  and  there  is  no  reason  for 
overstocking  because  of  any  doubts  as  to  our  ability  to 
secure  goods  when  wanted.  Buying  in  moderate  quan- 
tities makes  small  bills  which  are  easily  paid  when  due. 
Credit  should  be  handled  carefully,  as  it  is  the  most 
priceless  asset  of  a  man's  business,  and,  while  difficult  to 
establish,  is  very  easily  lost.  Honesty  and  straightfor- 
ward dealing  are  commendable  in  all,  and  certainly  win 
out  in  the  long  run. 

It  is  certainly  worth  considerable  to  be  able  to  send  an 
order  for  goods  and  receive  them  as  soon  as  the  express 
can  bring  them.  But,  how  differently  situated  is  the 
man  without  credit.  Delays  follow  the  receipt  of  his 
orders  whilst  inquiries  are  being  made,  and,  after  what 
seems  to  him  an  interminable  length  of  time,  he  receives 
either  the  goods  (sent  after  consideration),  or  else  a 
statement  of  their  inability  to  ship  the  goods. 

When  we  consider  the  length  of  time  it  takes  to  build 
up  a  trade  acquaintance  and  credit,  it  certainly  demon- 
strates how  carefully  we  should  use  it.  Never  use  all 
the  credit  you  can  get.  Caution  is  a  good  word  for  us 
all  to  remember;  caution  about  granting  and  receiving 
credit.  A  man  who  owns  a  little  business  and  sells  for 
cash,  or  practically  so,  and  is  equally  cautious  about  pur- 
chasing, will  succeed;  slowly,  'tis  true,  but  nevertheless 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS, 


77 


he  will  improve  his  condition  if  he  follows  the  beaten 
pathways  of  conducting  business.  Others  starting  in 
at  the  same  time  and  using  the  extent  of  their  credit, 
trusting  Tom,  Dick  and  Harry,  may  distance  them  in  the 
race,  but  the  probabilities  are  the  other  way.  "Slow  and 
sure,"  is  a  good  rule  to  foUow,  as  is  also  "Make  haste 
slowly." 


78 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


TH£  ONE-PRICE  SYSTEM. 

Does  it  Pay  to  Stick  to  the  One-Price  Principle?— The  Jew- 
eler to  Blame  for  Most  of  the  Dickering — Make  Your 
Prices  Bcniitable  and  Then  Maintain  Them. 

DANIEL  WEBSTER  in  his  memorabk  speech  in 
reply  to  Hayne  used  the  expression,  "What  is 
an  this  worth?"  It  is  my  intention  to  take 
that  expression  as  a  sort  of  text  from  which  to  draw 
several  lessons,  and  to  consider  whether  or  not  it  pays 
to  stand  up  for  a  principle  in  conducting  a  jewelry  busi- 
ness. The  principle  I  wish  to  consider  is  whether  or  not 
a  store  can  do  business  on  a  strictly  one  price  basis,  and 
whether  the  losses  of  sales  through  sticking  to  this  prin- 
ciple are  made  up  by  other  sales  to  customers  who  like 
to  do  business  in  a  Imsiness-like  way. 

We  continually  harp  on  the  fact  that  jewelry  pur- 
chases are  made  in  certain  places  because  of  confidence 
m  the  finn's  inte^ty.  Why  is  it  then  that  so  many 
people  want  to  look  around  a  little  before  deciding,  and 
speak  sibout  buying  where  they  can  do  the  best,  when 
they  are  not  familiar  with  goods,  qualities,  or  tnide- 
marks,  and  to  whom  if  an  article  is  gold,  it's  gdd,  and 
if  plated,  it's  plated,  they  making  no  distinction  in  qual- 
ities. Then  diere  a  great  many  people  who  never 
buy  unless  some  ccMicession  is  made  to  them.  Such  peo- 
ple believe  themselves  to  be  a  little  wiser  than  the  aver- 
age mortal,  and  glory  in  the  fact,  and  not  only  do  they 
glory  in  it,  but  they  s|M^d  the  news  abroad. 

There  is  no  other  business  under  the  sun  where  there 
is  so  much  dickering  as  to  prices  as  in  the  jewelry  busi- 
ness, and  the  jeweler  himself  is  to  blame  for  it.  There 
are  so  many  jewelers  in  each  town,  that  none  of  them  is 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


79 


doing  as  much  business  as  he  would  like  to  do,  and  so 
if  a  customer  appears  interested  in  an  article,  but  speaks 
as  though  he  was  going  to  look  elsewhere  before  pur- 
chasing, the  jeweler  takes  it  for  granted  that  his  price  is 
a  little  high,  and  so  he  begins  to  come  down,  finally  at 
la^  making  the  sale.  Those  who  pursue  this  method 
justify  themselves  by  saying  that  if  they  let  the  customer 
leave  without  purchasing,  and  he  buys  elsewhere,  they 
have  not  only  lo^  the  profit  on  that  one  particular  sale, 
but  perhaps  lost  his  fctturc  business.  So,  figuring  that 
a  half-loaf  is  better  than  none  at  all,  they  will  make  any 
concession  necessary  to  make  the  sale. 

Of  course,  if  you  refuse  to  make  a  concesMon  to  him, 
and  Smith  lets  him  have  ten  per  cent,  discount,  perhaps 
he  will  think  Smith  is  the  best  fellow,  but  after  all  is 
said  and  done,  when  he  is  at  home  by  Wmself  with  his 
purchase,  and  he  has  time  to  think  it  all  over,  what  dk> 
you  think  his  real  opinion  is  of  the  two  men  ?  Don't 
you  suppose  Hat  he  realizes  that  Smith  was  tickled  to 
make  the  sale,  even  at  a  discount,  and*  even  threw  in  a 
case  with  the  article,  and  don't  you  suppose  that  he 
thinks  more  of  you  as  a  man,  and  as  a  business  man,  be- 
cause of  the  principle  which  you  maintained,  even  at  a 
loss  to  yourself?  Some  jewelers  feel  that  if  a  customer 
leaves  without  purcluising,  tfiat  they  have  suffered  a  per- 
manent loss.  That  this  is  not  so,  any  thinking  man  will 
agfree. 

The  other  ade  of  the  argument,  and  "die  side  which 
the  writer  favors,  is  the  one-price  idea,  as  that  is  the 
only  fair  and  honest  way  of  doing  business.  The  man 
who  tries  to  squeeze  your  prcrfit  out  of  the  price  of  your 
goods  ^ould  not  buy  an  article  for  one  cent  less  than 
your  friend  who  passes  by  all  the  other  stores  to  trade 
with  you,  because  he  feels  satisfied  that  he  can  depend 
upon  you  r^^arding  the  quality  of  .the  goods,  and  that 
you  will  not  diarge  lum  more  than  is  r^t  for  it  He 
asks  ior  no  discount  because  he  is  a  friend  of  yours,  and 
is  willing  for  you  to  make  a  fair  profit  upon  his  traiisac- 


So 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS, 


tions  with  yoti.  But  suppose  that  he  finds  ihat  ym  have 
sc^  an  article  similar  in  design  and  quality  to  an  ac- 
quaintance of  his,  for  less  than  he  paid  for  it ;  or  suppose 
that  because  of  his  friendship  for  you,  he  recommends  a 
friend  to  you.  and  you  make  a  concession  to  him,  and  he 
^oes  back  and  tells  your  first  customer  ahout  it.  What 
then?  The  writer  knows  of  an  instance  of  this  kind 
where  a  man  working  in  a  wholesale  house  had  been 
buying  his  shoes  at  a  certain  place  for  years,  and  had 
taken  many  a  customer  to  that  store.  One  day.  In  Ae 
generosity  of  his  heart,  the  shoe  dealer  threw  off  a  quar- 
ter on  a  pair  of  three  dollar  shoes,  because  of  his  trade 
and  influence.  Upon  returning  to  his  work,  a  fellow 
employe,  noticing  the  shoes,  asked  where  he  bought 
them,  and  what  he  had  paid  for  them.  Upon  being  told 
where,  and  the  regular  price  of  the  shoes,  he  went  to  the 
store,  and  being  a  close  buyer,  came  back  with  the  shoes 
for  $2.50.  He  told  his  friend,  who  had  recommended 
him,  about  it,  with  the  result  that  the  shoe  dealer  lost 
the  trade  and  influence  of  nearly  every  one  of  the  men 
who  had  been  his  customers  for  years. 

This  chasing  a  customer  to  the  door,  and  reducing  the 
price  more  and  more,  until  the  sale  is  made — or  lost,  is 
poor  policy.  You  do  not  want  to  sell  a  customer  unless 
satisfaction  will  result.  Let  a  customer  go  and  make 
his  comparisons  before  he  buys,  because  if  you  do  not 
he  will  spend  the  rest  of  the  day  running  around  to  see 
if  he  got  "stuck."  When  a  customer  says  that  he  does 
not  want  to  buy  to-day,  that  should  suffice.  When  you 
have  shown  the  goods,  and  explained  their  merits,  and 
named  your  price,  it  is  up  to  the  customer.  Give  him 
a  chance.  Perhaps  he  does  not  intend  to  buy  to-day 
anyway,  and  is  just  "looking,"  as  he  says.  Encourage 
the  habit  of  "looking." 

Personally  I  would  not  enter  a  store  where  they  make 
it  difficult  to  retire  gracefully;  where  you  feel  yourself 
penned  up  in  a  corner,  and  that  you  must  either  buy  or 
lie,  in  order  to  get  out.   No  w(Mider  so  many  people 


EVANS'S  ESS  A  VS. 


81 


adopt  the  subterfuge  that  they  are  "looking"  for  a 
friend.  Price  does  not  influence  sales  to  the  extent  that 
many  believe.  The  more  jewelers  there  are  who  main- 
tain prices  as  quoted,  the  better  it  will  be  for  all  am- 
cerned.  Other  businesses  do  not  throw  off  on  every 
purchase;  then  why  should  the  jeweler?  His  goods  last 
longer,  seldom  need  duplicating,  and,  when  selling  them, 
he  should  receive  a  fair  profit.  Some  people  consider 
that  the  jeweler  makes  a  tremendous  profit,  and  it  is  no 
wonder  when  we  hear  of  the  cuts  made  to  make  a  sale. 

I  believe  that  people  respect  the  man  who  maintains 
his  stated  prices,  and  that  it  is  to  him  they  will  go  when 
they  have  to  buy  anything  of  consequence.  People  are 
suspicious  of  tlie  too-anxious  salesman. 


82  EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


-YOUR  MONEY  BACK  IF  YOU  WANT  IT." 

Some  Rmions  Why  This  Favorite  Slogan  in  Some  Trades 
Cannot  be  Used  in  the  Jewelry  Business— Be  Ready  to 
BsduBife,  But  Not  to  Turn  Back  Cash. 

IN  this  age  of  the  world,  new  ideas  are  constantly  be- 
ing brought  forward  which  are  supposed  to  have 
more  or  less  merit  as  influencers  of  trade.  One  of 
diese  of  which  we  have  heard  considerable  is  that  it  is 
good  busmess  to  offer  to  your  customer  his  money  back 
if  he  wants  it  In  some  business,  it  probably  will  pay 
to  make  this  offer,  and  it  will  not  make  a  great 
deal  of  difference  whether  the  money  is  given  bacK 
or  not  Take  the  grocery  business,  for  instance. 
Supposing  the  grocer  refunds  the  money,  the  same 
CttStwner  will  doubtless  be  there  to-inorrow  again  to 
make  purchases.  So,  too,  with  the  clothier,  hardware 
dealer,  hatter  and  furnisher,  and  through  a  long  Imeof 
businesses.  Unquestionably,  it  makes  sellmg 
easier,  to  accompany  the  sale  with  the  offer  to  rcftrnd  ttie 
money  if  they  decide  that  they  do  not  want  the  goo^ 
But  why  is  the  purchase  made  in  the  first  place,  it  tnc 
purchaser  does  not  want  the  goods.  Why  does  he  not 
keep  his  money,  and  you  your  goods,  if  he  w  gomg  to 
come  back  for  his  money  in  a  day  or  two.  The  backers 
of  this  idea  advance  the  argument  that  it  beg^  confi- 
dence in  the  store.  The  writer  believes  that  ttie  ^ 
confidence  can  be  obtained  by  straightforward 
of  doing  business,  and  letting  a  customer  go  and  took 
elsewhere  before  he  buys,  and  then  let  hfan  buy  where 
he  wishes  to,  without  any  offer  that  he  can  bring  the 
goods  back  and  get  his  money. 

The  jewelry  business  is  a  Uttk  different  from  any 
other  business  whkdi  you  can  amceive  of.   There  are  a 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


83 


few  good  reasons  which  can  be  given,  which  will  ^ow 
the  disadvantages  of  offering  to  refund  the  purchase 
price  if  dissatisfied.    In  the  first  place,  people  have  the 
rather  disagreeable  habit  of  carrying  around  to  all  the 
other  stores,  their  jewelry  purchases,  to  find  out  if  they 
paid  too  much  for  them.  Right  here,  let  me  say,  that  I 
thmk  the  trade  generally  make  a  mistake  when  they 
quote  prices  on  purchases  made  elsewhere.   The  time  to 
compete  is  before  the  purchase  is  made.   To  resume  my 
subject,  we  will  suppose  that  Jones  sells  a  25  year  case 
with  a  15  jewel  movement,  and  figures  a  fair  profit 
thereon,  and  sells  it  with  the  understanding  that  he  will 
return  the  money  if  the  buyer  wishes  it   The  buyer  of 
the  watch  carries  it  to  Smith,  around  the  ccmier,  to  see 
what  he  would  have  sold  him  the  watch  for,  and  Smith, 
not  knowing  what  Jones  had  sold  the  watch  for,  and  see- 
ing that  it  is  a  new  watch,  and  in  order  to  be  on  the  safe 
side,  and  be  able  to  impress  the  questioner  with  die  fact 
that  he  (Smith)  sells  goods  at  a  tower  price  than  ottiers, 
will  quote  as  close  to  the  cost  price  as  he  can  afford  to 
go.   The  recent  customer  at  Jones',  either  becomes  an 
immediate  purchaser  at  Smith's  or  he  calls  on  Jones  for 
the  refund  of  his  money,  and  buys  his  second  watch  at 
Smith's.   Was  his  confidence  strengthened  in  Joaes  by 
the  fact  that  his  money  was  refunded?  If  so,  where 
will  he  naturally  go  for  his  next  purchase  in  the  jewelry 
line?   If  he  does  what  most  people  will  do,  he  will  go 
to  Smith's  on  the  theory  that  he  sells  at  lower  prices. 
Where  has  Jones  improved  his  condition?    Does  not 
the  offer  of  "Your  Money  Bade  if  You  Want  It"  en- 
courage die  running  around  town  to  compare  prices? 
Has  the  jeweler  the  same  chance  to  make  up  on  cus- 
tomers for  the  money  thus  refunded,  on  future  sales, 
diat  odicr  lines  of  business  have?   If  a  sale  is  made,  and 
tite  purchaser  has  received  value  received,  he  should 
keep  it,  except,  in  occasional  cases,  where  an  exchange 
w  necessary,  or  where  a  special  arrangement  is  made. 
But  let  such  cases  be  the  exception,  and  not  the  rule. 


84 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


If  wc  are  conducting  our  business  on  right  principles, 
and  selling  reliable  mods,  why  should  we  agree  to  re- 
fund the  money?  Of  course,  our  time  isn't  worth  a 
great  deal,  but  it  is  worth  just  enough  so  that  we  cannot 
afford  to  waste  it  Time  is  money,  and  we  should  so 
consider  it.  Of  necessity,  we  have  to  spend  time  show- 
ing goods,  which  at  that  particular  time  show  no  profit, 
but  such  time  is  not  wasted.  We  cannot  gauge  busi- 
ness, nor  teU  to  whom  we  are  going  to  make  a  sale,  so 
we  use  each  customer  courteously,  and'  pleasantly,  mak- 
ing suggestions,  and  trying  to  assist  them  in  coming  to 
a  dedskm  to  buy,  and  perhaps,  if  to-day  is  not  the  day, 
they  wiU  call  agam,  and  the  sale  will  be  consummated. 

But  it  is  different  when  you  have  taken  a  half  hour  or 
so,  showing  goods,  and  explaining  their  virtues,  and 
have  finally  accomplished  the  sale,  and  the  customer  has 
left  with  his  purchase.  Suppose  that  it  is  a  nng  which 
he  has  purchased  for  a  young  lady,  and  he  presents  it  to 
her,  and  withm  the  week,  receives  it  back  again.  Ought 
he  to  have  the  privily  of  returning  the  rmg,  and  ob- 
taining his  money,  or  is  not  the  jeweler  doing  all  that  it 
is  right  to  ask  or  expect,  when  he  willingly  offers  to  ex- 
change it  for  anything  else  in  his  line  which  the  ownei 
wishes  to  ? 

The  writer  is  of  the  opinion,  that  jewelers  generally 
will  do  well  to  adopt  a  rule,  to  this  effect :  "Goods  Ex- 
changed Willingly,  within  30  Days  of  the  Purchase, 
and  adhere  to  that  as  far  as  possible.  The  writer  has 
seen  attempts  made  to  exchange,  at  hoh^lay  time  articles 
like  chain  bracelets,  which  were  purchased  a  full  year 
before  The  jeweler  cannot  afford  to  change  around  so 
much  In  proportion' to  what  the  jeweler  sells,  and  the 
fact  that  his  ^)ods  last  longer  than  those  purchased  in 
any  other  line,  his  profits  are  much  lower  than  they 

should  be.  , 

To  sum  it  all  up,  let  us  not  be  too  eager  to  make  a  sale. 
Let  the  customer  decide  for  himself,  and  when  he  so  de- 
cides, let  him  keep  what  he  gets,  unless  it  is  defective  or 
he  wishes  to  exchange  for  something  else.   There  are 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


85 


cases  once  in  a  while  when  we  all  gladly  give  back  money 
to  have  rid  of  a  customer,  but  such  cases  are  few  and  far 
between.  If  people  find  that  you  are  easy  in  such  mat- 
ters, they  will  impose  upon  you  and  ask  favors  which 
they  would  not  expect  elsewhere,  and  they  will  not  think 
any  more  of  you  for  granting  their  request. 


86 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 


THE  JEWELER'S  GUARANTEE. 

This  BoiiiiM  is  tlM  Only  One  Where  the  Buyers  Expect 
Goods  to  Wesr  Fofew^Retsilers  Are  Too  Liberal 
Widk  Their  Guarantees  on  Plated  Goods— A  Campaign 
of  Bdncatioii  Nssdsd  Along  This  Lias. 

OF  course,  all  business  have  their  drawbacks,  but 
wc  are  all  in  a  position  to  realize  fully  the  disad- 
vantages of  our  own  business.   I  think  the  most 
source  of  trouble  to  the  jeweler  is  the  guarantees  which 
he  feels  called  upon  to  make  in  order  to  do  business.  In 
no  other  Hnc  of  trade  is  so  much  expected  or  demanded. 
A  man  buys  a  pair  of  shoes,  and  in  two  or  three  months 
he  goes  and  buys  another  pair,  and  thinks  nothing  about 
it.   Oothing,  hats  and  caps,  underwear,  shirts,  and  so 
on,  fade  away,  and  there  is  no  complaint  made  to  the 
stores  where  they  were  bought.    But  let  the  poor  jeweler 
beware  if  the  pin-tonn:ue  for  which  he  received  the  iiuis;- 
nificent  amount  of  lo  cents  comes  out  or  breaks  withm 
three  months,  or  even  longer.    So,  too,  if  he  cleans  a 
watch,  and  the  mainspring  breaks,  he  is  expected  to  do 
this  work  for  nothing.    Not  so  with  the  bicycle  re- 
pairer.   You  can  have  your  wheel  repaired  every  day  in 
the  year,  and  you  will  pay  for  it  each  time.    Why  is 
there  this  distinction?    Is  it  not  the  fault  of  the  jewelry 
trade  that  this  condition  of  affairs  exists?    The  people 
can  be  trained  either  to  expect  a  great  deal    for  httle 
money  or  to  expect  just  what  they  pay  for,  and  no  naorc. 

If  a  watch  is  repaired,  we  should  guarantee  the  work 
done,  and  no  more.  It  is  not  necessary  to  tell  the  cus- 
tomer than  we  guarantee  the  watdi  to  run  for  a  af- 
ter repairing  it.  If  he  takes  it  out  and  drops  it,  the 
guarantee  should  expire  at  once.  The  jeweler  has 
enough  free  jobs,  such  as  setting  and  regulating  watches. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


87 


straightening  spectacles,  etc.,  without  adding  to  the  list. 
I  think  the  jeweler  does  entirely  too  much  for  nothing. 
A  good  plan  to  follow,  is  to  decline  to  do  jobs  while  the 
customer  waits.  Never  mind  if  it  can  be  done  in  a  min- 
ute. Tell  them  to  call  in  a  half-hour,  if  you  want  to  be 
accommodating,  or  have  them  leave  them  a  day  or  two. 
You  cannot  charge  what  a  job  is  worth  if  you  do  it  too 
quick.  It  is  not  merely  the  time  you  take  to  do  it  that 
they  should  be  charged  for,  but  also  for  the  ability  to  do 
it,  and  the  tools  to  work  with. 

If  a  watch  is  brought  in  for  a  mainspring,  or  jewel, 
and  we  can  see  that  it  needs  cleaning,  insist  on  the  cus- 
tomer having  it  cleaned  at  the  same  time.  If  he  takes  it 
out  of  the  store,  after  the  spring  is  put  in,  and  it  stops, 
he  will  charge  this  to  your  spring,  and  you  will  have  to 
clean  the  watch  for  nothing  or  have  a  dissatisfied  cus- 
tomer. 

A  jeweler  in  making  sales  should  be  careful  about 
guaranteeing  gooill.  It  is  not  enough  that  the  manufac- 
turer says  that  he  will  replace  anything  returned  witfiin 
ten  years,  we  should  figure  on  the  number  of  people  who 
will  not  return  to  complain  about  the  article,  but  will 
think  that  we  intentionally  deceived  them.  I  have  heard 
of  an  instance  where  a  woman  in  buying  a  plated  brace- 
let, for  which  die  jeweler  asked  $2,  made  die  inquiry, 
"Hdw  long  will  it  wear?"  And  he  told  her  twenty  years, 
but  ythea  she  returned  with  it  in  three  months,  comjplain- 
ing,  he  asked  her  what  she  e3q>ected  for  $2.  On  plated 
goods,  it  is  better  to  go  slow  on  promises,  and  tell  them 
that  it  is  in^>ossible  to  say  how  long  it  will  wear ;  but  if 
it  did  not  last  a  reasonable  length  of  time,  we  would  re- 
place it.  We  hear  of  campaigns  of  education,  and  it  will 
pay  the  jewelry  trade  of  fiie  country  to  try  and  educate 
the  public  to  a  knowledge  of  the  fact  that  plated  goods 
are  not  as  good  as  the  solid  article,  nor  will  they  wear 
forever.  If  all  would  stand  together  and  talk  the  same 
way,  we  would  all  be  a  great  deal  better  off.  But  if  one 
dealer  will  not  guarantee  a  chain  which  he  sells  for  $2, 
for  twenty  years,  and  another  store  does  so  guarantee 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


such  a  chain,  naturally  it  strikes  the  inquirer  that  the 
man  who  guarantees  an  article  for  the  longest  time  is 
giving  hini  more  value  for  his  money. 

The  guarantee  business  is  certainly  worked  overtime. 
There  is  no  line  of  business  where  the  goods  sdd  are  so 
lasting  or  give  the  same  universal  satisiactioii  as  in  this 
of  ours.    But  as  we  know  that  our  goods  do  not  need  re- 
placing hardly  ever,  it  does  seem  Hiat  wc  should  not  feel 
called  upon  to  promise  almost  impossible  things  to  make 
the  sale.   Occasionally  we  find  stores  that  guarantee 
watches  they  sell  for  five  years.   Whether  or  not  they 
make  good  defects  free  during  all  that  time,  the  writer 
knows  not,  but  my  opinion  is  that  one  year  is  long  enough 
to  guarantee  a  watch  movement,  as  that  offers  ample 
time  for  the  exchange  of  insperfeci  movements.  An- 
other matter  which  needs  considering  is  the  jeweler's  lia- 
bility as  to  stones  lost  out  of  rings  sold.    Some  people 
are  unnecessarily  rough  in  their  usage  of  anything  which 
is  guaranteed  to  them,  as  they  believe  in  the  theory  that 
in  such  way  they  get  the  most  out  of  the  guarantee,  be- 
cause if  they  lose  a  stone  from  a  ring  or  pin,  they  expect 
the  jeweler  to  replace  it  free  of  charge.    It  is  perhaps  a 
good  idea  to  do  this  the  first  time  it  occurs  where  the 
stone  is  inexpensive,  but  to  inform  the  customer  that  a 
charge  will  be  made  in  the  future.    People  as  a  rule,  how- 
ever, do  not  appreciate  things  which  they  get  for  noth- 
ing, and  are  better  satisfied  to  pay  for  them.    If  people 
find  thev  can  impose  upon  us  in  enforcing  guarantees, 
they  will  do  so.    It  is  a  good  idea  to  stand  on  our  dignity, 
and  we  will  find  that  in  nine  cases  out  ol  ten  wc  will  hold 
their  trade,  and  do  more  business  with  them  than  before. 

Finally,  in  guaranteeii^  an  article,  say  no  more  than  is 
necessary  or  than  you  can  surely  fulfill.  Make  good  the 
defects  m  your  guarantee,  chceffully,  bftt  do  no  more  than 
that. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


89 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


WHY  TRADE  PAPERS  ARE  NECESSARY. 

Tht  UtefalncM  of  the  Trade  Paper— Some  Reasons  Why  it 
is  Money  in  a  Retailer's  Pocket  to  Read  His  Trade 
Jonmala  Wnmnrafft  the  Editor  by  Subacribing  and 
Plying  Pron^tiy* 

ALL  of  us  have  become  so  accustomed  to  the  fact 
that  there  are  trade  papers,  that  we  seldom  if 
ever  stop  to  consider  the  great  benefits  resulting 
from  them,  or  the  difference  there  would  be  in  our  con- 
ditions were  they  all  suddenly  to  suspend.  The  trouble 
with  the  jewelry  trade  in  general  is  that  each  individual 
merchant  is  afraid  to  converse  with  his  local  brethren, 
and  give  them  the  benefits  of  his  experiences,  and  in  re- 
turn, to  learn  from  them.  This,  then,  places  each  indi- 
vidual in  a  hole  by  himself,  and  leaves  him  to  rely  upon 
his  own  efforts  for  everything,  he  may  learn  or  acquire  in 
the  way  of  knowledge  of  his  business,  with  the  exception 
that  through  the  columns  of  his  trade  papers  he  has  the 
means  at  hand  for  learning  what  other  dealers  in  other 
cities  are  doing  to  improve  their  trade  and  their  condi- 
tions. Trained  writers  in  trade  papers  are  continually 
exerting  themselves  to  present  suggestions  to  their  read- 
ers to  assist  them  in  promoting  their  business.  . 

Then,  again,  jewelers  who  would  not  think  of  offering 
suggestions  to  their  local  brethren  will  offer  them  to  the 
jewelers  of  the  country  through  the  columns  of  th€  trade 
papers,  and  it  is  well  that  this  is  so.  Then,  again,  when 
a  jeweler  is  at  a  loss  as  to  how  to  handle  repairs  of  a 
difficult  nature,  to  whom  does  he  turn  for  help,  aid  and 
assistance?  Why,  to  his  trade  paper,  of  course.  He 
feels  that  he  can  ask  questions  of  them  which  he  could 
not  of  any  one  else.    Nor  does  he  ask  in  vain.   The  ed- 


fO  EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


itor  is  always  willing  to  give  sadi  advice  as  he  can,  or  to 
refer  the  inquirer  to  others  hetter  informed  who  can  fur- 
nish the  desired  information.  Then,  in  cases  where  it 
is  desired  to  obtain  goods  of  unique  designs,  or  goods 
whose  makers  cannot  easily  be  found,  much  correspond- 
ence and  long  waiting  are  obviated  through  the  medium 
of  the  trade  papers. 

A  trade  paper  keeps  the  retailer  up-to-date  r^;arding 
the  new  goods  which  are  being  brought  out  from  time  to 
time,  and  through  its  advertising  colunms  places  him  in 
immediate  communication  with  9ie  source  of  supply  for 
these  goods.  Traveling  men  are  out  all  the  whHe,  but 
it  does  not  always  pay  to  await  their  coming  before  get- 
ting in  goods.  Very  often  we  will  find  that  die  whole- 
salers are  waiting  for  inquiries  before  they  stock  up  on 
new  goods  to  any  great  extent.  An  advertisement  of  a 
wholesaler,  placed  in  the  columns  of  the'  trade  papers, 
impresses  upon  tibe  minds  of  the  readers  the  name  of 
that  house,  and,  involuntarily,  when  they  think  of  cer- 
tain lines  of  goods,  they  thiidc  of  certain  houses.  Then, 
too,  it  maJces  the  path  of  the  traveling  representative 
comparatively  easy,  if  the  house  uses  printer's  ink  to  any 
extent  A  representative  for  a  well  advertised  house 
makes  new  customers  in  one  or  two  calls,  whereas,  tiie 
traveler  for  the  unknown  house  has  to  woric  for  years 
developing  his  trade. 

The  trade  paper  offers  through  its  colmnns  sugges- 
tions for  trade  winning,  for  advertising,  for  window 
dressin^^,  and,  perhaps,  in  one  of  these  articles,  one  may 
obtain  one  hint  whidi  will  prove  to  him  to  be  worth  the 
price  of  his  subscripticMi  for  years. 

The  jewelry  trade  paper  adso  keeps  us  in  mind  of  the 
fact  that  there  are  in  the  land  men  who  believe  it  easier 
to  live  in  a  dishonest  manner,  at  others'  expense,  than  to 
pursue  a  Intimate  undertaking.  It  may  be  possible 
diat  the  very  trick  you  read  about  to-day  may  be  tried 
upon  you  this  wedc.  If  so,  you  are  forewarned,  and 
forewarned  is  forearmed.  It  may  be  that  something 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


91 


entirely  new  may  be  tried  upon  you.  In  either  case, 
your  chances  are  better  because  of  the  fact  that  you 
keep  yourself  familiar  widi  such  tricks  through  read- 
ing your  trade  papers  Some  jewders  lead  a  very 
quiet  life,  and  seldom  if  ever  have  a  dishonest  person  en- 
ter their  store,  but  we  all  should  keep  oursdves  from 
falling  into  a  trance  w.hile  waiting  upon  a  customer,  only 
to  awake  to  the  fact  (after  his  departure)  that  he  has 
taken  a  valuable  ring  along  with  him. 

Trade  papers  need  encouragement  in  their  work. 
Kind  words  of  approbation  are  appreciated  by  every  one. 
If  you  see  something  in  a  paper  which  has  proven  very 
helpful  to  you,  do  not  be  afraid  to  say  so.  If  some  one 
department  appeals  to  you  more  than  the  rest,  let  the  ed- 
itor know  that  too.  A  trade  paper,  knowing  what  its 
subscribers  need,  or  wish,  can  come  pretty  near  to  satis- 
fying them.  Another  way  to  encourage  the  trade  paper 
is  by  sending  the  price  of  your  subscription  promptly,  by 
furnishing  items  of  interest  to  the  paper,  and,  those 
whose  business  warrants  it,  by  inserting  advertisements 
therein.  The  retailer  knows  that  he  must  advertise  in 
the  daily  papers  in  order  to  bring  himself  to  the  atten- 
tion of  the  public;  so  too,  the  manufacturer  or  whole- 
saler who  wishes  to  receive  the  greatest  returns,  must 
use  the  columns  of  the  trade  papers.  To  whom  does  the 
retail  jeweler  send  his  orders  for  selection  packages,  or 
for  special  goods  which  he  needs  in  a  hurry?  Why,  to 
the  firm  that  advertises,  whether  or  not  he  deals  with 
them  regularly.  He  does  this  because  he  does  not  wish 
to  be  delayed,  and  so  he  sends  to  headquarters,  as  he  un- 
derstands the  firms  to  be,  who  advertise  in  the  trade  pa- 
pers. The  trade  paper  is  a  help  therefore,  to  wholesaler 
and  retailer  alike,  because  it  puts  each  in  touch  with  the 
other.  One  of  them,  the  seller,  wishes  the  acquaintance 
of  the  buyer;  the  other,  the  buyer,  looking  for  the  one 
from  whom  to  purchase. 

How  any  jeweler  can  run  his  business  without  the  aid 
of  his  trade  papers,  is  hard  for  me  to  understand.  Some 


92 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


maintam  that  they  have  not  time  to  read  dieoL  Hiis  is 
a  fallacy.  However,  it  is  unnecessary  for  a  man  to  read 
everything  in  a  paper.  But  the  few  minutes  it  takes  for 
one  to  scan  or  read  a  trade  paper  will  prove  of  inestima- 
ble value  to  one,  because  in  addition  to  the  fact  that  one 
learns  without  knowing  it,  it  also  relaxes  the  brain,  and 
releases  it  frcmi  the  cares  of  one's  immediate  business, 
and  reminds  him  that  there  are  others  all  over  the  coun- 
try engaged  in  the  same  undertaking,  and  working  under 
the  same  or  perhaps  greater  difficulties.  Great  is  the 
trade  paper,  and  long  may  it  live. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


93 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 


THE  JEWELER  AND  THE  DEPARTMENT  STORE. 

How  to  Hold  Trade  in  Competitioii  Witfi  tfie  Bargain 
Counter— Some  Argumenti  Suggested  to  be  Used  on 
Cnatomonk 

WE  are  all  of  us  prepared  to  meet  fair  competition, 
and  must  necessarily  expect  to  lose  sales  occa- 
sionally to  our  competitors,  even  as  they  also 

lose  them  to  us.  But  the  competition  which  exists  out- 
side of  our  own  craftsmen  is  what  we  have  most  to  fear, 
and  need  to  agitate  most  against.  When  I  write  agita- 
tion, I  do  not  mean  publicly  decrying  the  department 
store  and  its  methods,  as  the  surest  way  to  help  any  one 
to  succeed  is  to  talk  against  them.  As  far  as  possible 
retail  jewelers  should  not  buy  goods  from  those  who  sell 
to  department  stores,  as  some  patterns  are  so  pronounced 
that  a  customer  can  carry  them  in  their  mind's  eye  from 
store  to  store  while  shopping.  If  we  find  that  certain 
lines  of  goods  which  these  stores  sell  at  ctif  prices  go  slow 
with  us,  cut  them  right  out  of  the  stock,  and  let  them 
have  the  sale  of  these  goods.  Confine  your  stock  to  high- 
class  goods.  Do  not  go  in  for  the  cheapest  which  you 
can  buy,  for  that  is  the  class  of  goods  which  these  stores 
make  a  specialty  of.  They  appeal  directly  to  those  who 
consider  the  price  of  an  article  as  the  most  important 
thing  to  be  considered  in  making  a  purchase.  It  is  our 
duty,  and  plainly  to  our  advantage,  to  let  the  price 
question  be  the  secondary  consideration,  and  talk  qual- 
ity, first,  last,  and  all  tiie  time.  Do  not  advertise  prices 
in  the  papers,  because  your  sales  would  not  be  materially 
increased  thereby,  and  ^e  department  store  could  cut 
under  yon.  A  few  years  ago,  in  one  of  the  trade  pap- 
ers, there  appeared  the  account  of  a  jeweler  who  tried 
to  %ht  it  out  with  a  department  store  on  alarm  clocks, 


94 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


bat  it  rcstiltcd  in  iiis  own  discomfiture.  He  finally  cut 
tifte  price  to  five  cents  less  than  cost,  and  the  dry  goods 
store  sent  their  clerks,  one  by  one,  and  bought  his  stock 
of  clocks,  and  sold  them  at  one  cent  apiece  less  than  he 
was  selling  them,  he  losing  five  cents  oa  each  clock,  and 
they  losing  but  one  cent.  ,  ,  , 

What  we  should  do  is  to  talk  quality  good  and  loud ; 
^oat  it,  if  necessary.  The  average  customer  is  afraid  to 
trust  to  his  own  judgment,  and  we  should  try  to  make 
ham  feel  that  he  is  secured  when  he  make  a  purchase  in 
our  store.  If  a  customer  informs  you  that  he  can  buy 
an  alarm  clock  for  ten  cents  less  than  you  are  selhng 
them,  do  not  try  to  meet  the  price,  but  show  the  benetits 
derived  from  purchasing  a  clock  where  there  is  a  guar- 
antee attached,  which  protects  a  customer  should  the 
clock  be  defective  or  a  spring  break.  N*ever  acknowl- 
edge that  your  goods  are  the  same  as  the  department 
store  sells.  Tell  your  customer  that  you  do  not  know 
what  kind  of  goods  they  do  sell,  but  you  do  know  what 
the  goods  are  that  you  have  for  sale.  If,  in  showing 
other  goods,  say  watches,  and  the  custc)bier  talks  about 
looking  at  a  department  store  stock  before  deciding,  you 
can  do  yourself  and  your  brother  jewelers  a  good  turn  by 
urging  the  man  to  make  his  jewelry  purchases  in  a  jew-, 
elry  store,  where  he  can  be  assured  of  having  anything 
wrong  made  right.  Tell  him  to  go  to  one  of  the  other 
jewelers  and  compare  prices,  and  that  he  will  be  sure  of 
getting  something  good  wherever  he  decides  to  buy. 

Another  way  to  hold  trade  against  competition  is  to 
tell  customers  that  they  will  come  out  better  if  they  will 
go  to  the  store  where  they  have  confidence  that  they  will 
receive  fair  treatment,  and  make  known  their  desires, 
and  the  amount  they  can  put  into  whatever  they  wish  to 
buy.  People  respect  you  more  if  you  do  not  act  afraid 
for  them  to  look  around.  If  a  customer  is  thinking  of 
looking  at  several  stocks  before  he  buys,  he  will  go  any 
way,  and  he  might  as  well  have  your  suggestion  added 
to  so  look,  but  always  impress  upon  them  to  come  back 
again  and  look  at  your  goods  before  purchasing.  Some 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


95 


y 


will  not,  of  course,  come  back,  but  others  are  as  good  as 
their  word  and  will  come  back,  and  the  chances  are  in 
favor  of  your  making  the  sale. 

Surely,  well-trained  salesmen,  who  have  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  jewelry  business,  should  have  no  diffi- 
culty in  overcoming  the  advances  of  the  department  store, 
whose  sole  argument  is  price.  Show  your  familiarity 
with  the  goods,  your  knowledge  of  precious  stones.  Al- 
lowing that  the  department  store  sells  at  a  less  price  than 
the  jewelry  store  (and  they  very  seldom  do  except  on 
trash,  which  the  jewelry  store  should  not  handle)  it 
should  be  an  easy  matter  to  convince  customers  that  the 
advice  of  the  expert  is  surely  worth  the  small  sum  extra 
which  it  costs. 

Never  let  a  customer  think  that  the  department  store 
hurts  you  in  the  least.  Always  talk  and  act  on  the 
theory  that  there  are  some  people  wfio  never  buy  goods 
in  their  r^lar  channels,  but  are  constantly  on  the  look- 
out to  buy  something  cheap.  They  form  the  crowd  at 
the  auction  sales  and  the  bargain  counters,  and  it  is  a 
useless  matter  to  try  and  hold  thdr  trade.  But  the 
great  class  of  people,  who  are  anxious  to  buy  where  they 
can  save  money,  and  yet  do  not  want  cheap  truck,  wc 
can  convince  that  the  only  right  place  to  buy  watches, 
jewelry  and  kindred  articles,  is  in  the  Intimate  jewelry 
store. 


I 


r 


96 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


THE  JEWELER  AND  THE  SEASONS. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  YEAR. 

How  the  Retail  Jeweler  Should  Keep  HimMlf  Bmf  in  tiM 
Slack  Period  After  the  Holiday  Season— Hint!  M  to  Ibe 
Accommodation  of  Customers— An  Euct  Inv«ntocy 
Should  be  Taken  About  Febnuury  x. 

WE  have  all  passed  through  the  jeweler's  partic- 
ular season  of  the  year;  the  tunc  when  he  has 
his  harvest,  and  when  he  docs  a  month's  busi- 
ness in  a  couple  of  days.  Whether  your  busmcss 
came  up  to  your  expectations  or  not,  you  must  bnng 
yourself  at  once  to  renewed  efforts  for  Uie  new 
year.  Local  conditions,  and  even  neighborhood  condi- 
tios,  so  often  affect  a  man's  business,  that  each  is  him- 
self the  sole  judge  as  to  whether  or  not  busmess  was 

^^fter  the  close  of  the  selling  season,  comes  the 
settling  up  period,  whkh  affords  the  honest  man  as 
much  satisfaction  as  the  buying  and  sdhng  of  goods 
does.  After  Christmas  comes  the  ever  r^lar  chang- 
ing of  goods,  altering  rings,  engraving  of  articles  put 
over  until  after  Christmas.  Then,  too,  our  repairing 
department,  neglected  during  the  two  or  three  weeks  im- 
mediately prior  to  Christmas,  again  demands  our  atten- 
tion. The  watches,  clocks  and  jewelry,  left  during  De- 
cember, and  all  of  which  are  promised,  right  along  after 
Christmas,  all  have  their  respective  owners,  who  want  to 
get  them  again,  and  so  the  jeweler  finds  himself  crowded 
as  mudi  or  more  than  he  was  before  Christmas,  and  with 
a  great  deal  less  in  it 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


97 


But  wc  cannot  sdl  holiday  {M-csents  contimiously,  and 
the  repairing  department  is  after  all  the  mainstay  of  the 
jewdry  btu^icss,  as  by  means  of  it  we  obtain  and  hold, 
k  addition  to  the  immediate  cash  fbrthooming,  a  shore 
of  each  repair  customer's  tndt  on  jewelry  and  Undred 
articles. 

So  the  jeweler  after  Christmas  must  necessarily  first 
turn  his  attention  repair-ways.  Then,  too,  we  will  find 
that  many  goods  through  frequent  handling  need  polish- 
ing, wiping,  recarding  or  retagging.  All  this  should  be 
attended  to  promptly.  Trade  will  go  on  in  January  and 
the  succeeding  months,  although  not  as  brisk  as  during 
the  holiday  month.  Customers  calling  in  January,  hav- 
ing more  time  to  consider  purchases,  are  apt  to  be,  if 
anything,  more  particular  as  to  appearance  and  price. 
If  the  goods  are  fresh-looking  there  is  no  need  of  offer- 
ing them  at  a  discount.  Many  jewelers  would  rather 
sacrifice  their  profit  on  an  article  than  spend  ten  minutes 
cleaning  it  up.  Do  not  let  your  store  acquire  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  second-hand  store.  Keep  it  up  with  as 
much  care  now  as  before  Christmas.  The  writer  has  ac- 
quaintances in  the  trade  who  make  it  a  practice  every 
November  to  go  through  their  stock,  and  carefully  pol- 
ish and  recard  or  tag,  each  article.  The  store  then  takes 
on  its  annual  holiday  appearance,  and  these  stores  with 
the  rest  do  business.  But,  as  before  stated,  and  as  all 
are  fully  aware,  there  will  not  be  a  holiday  business  again 
until  the  next  year,  and  as  we  are  all  anxious  to  ob- 
tain cash  during  the  months  preceding,  we  should  keep 
up  our  efforts.  It  does  seem  rather  hard,  perhaps,  that 
after  an  exhausting  month  of  holiday  work,  preceded  by 
several  months  of  preparation,  that  the  jeweler  cannot 
take  a  week's  rest,  but  if  we  fall  behind  now  we  will  not 
make  it  up  during  the  year. 

The  jeweler  should  be  just  as  wideawake  as  any  one. 
and  while  he  cannot  make  the  claims  or  statements  of 
the  large  department  stores,  yet,  he  should  be  seasonable. 
His  after-Christmas  advertising  should  be  in  keeping 


98 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


with  the  time  of  the  year.  His  first  ad.  should  be  a  card 
of  thanks  to  patrons  of  the  past,  to  be  followed  by  a  gen- 
erous wish  for  "a  Happy  New  Year/'  and  later  by  a  re- 
quest for  support  and  patronage  during  the  coming  year, 
and  promising  the  same  courteous  treatment  and  same 
endeavors  to  merit  their  approbation  and  friendly  sup- 
port as  in  the  past. 

Goods  which  are  brought  in  for  exchange  should  be 
exchanged  with  the  same  gentlemanly  manner  that  they 
were  sold  with  originally.  Complaints  regarding  the  fin- 
ish or  appearance  of  articles  sold  should  receive  proper 
attention  and  treatment.  Sizes  of  rings  should  be 
changed  without  a  murmur.  Changes  of  goods,  for 
something  not  in  stock,  should  be  made,  even  if  it  is  nec- 
essary to  obtain  the  article  especially.  We  have  the  op- 
portunity of  making  new  customers  in  this  way.  Many 
of  those  who  will  come  in  with  articles  for  engraving,  or 
exchange,  will  be  people  who  have  never  entered  your 
establishment  before,  and,  although  the  article  they  are 
changing  may  be  an  inexpensive  one,  through  acquaint- 
ance other  more  profitable  sales  will  result. 

So,  at  the  threshold  of  the  New  Year,  with  the  results 
of  the  Christmas  business  before  us,  and  with  the  many 
opportunities  for  developing  our  trade  right  ahead  of  us, 
let  us  resolve  that  the  coming  year  will  be  our  best  year 
yet,  if  we  can  make  it  so  by  fair,  square  dcahng,  and 
that  your  guiding  rule  will  be  the  Golden  Rule,  "Do  unto 
others  as  you  would  that  they  should  do  unto  you." 

A  thorough  business  man,  in  connection  with  his  busi- 
ness, takes  an  annual  or  semi-annual  inventory  of  his 
stO(^  and  fixtures,  which,  together  with  his  casli  balances, 
shows  the  assets  of  his  business.  From  these  it  is  a 
simple  matter  to  deduct  his  liabilities;  the  balance  remain- 
ing will  be  his  net  worth. 

Appearances  are  deceitful,  and  it  is  an  impossibility  tor 
any  man,  by  taking  a  glance  through  his  stock,  to  tell 
whether  or  not  he  has  more  value  in  his  stock  this  year 
than  last.   Every  business  man  owes  it  to  himself  and  to 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


99 


his  creditors  to  take  a  thorough  inventory  at  least  once 
a  year.  It  matters  not  what  month  or  time  of  year  this 
is  done,  so  long  as  it  is  done  regularly.  For  the  jeweler, 
with  his  heaviest  season  coming  immediately  before  Jan- 
uary 1st,  and  followed  by  a  fortnight  of  extraordinary 
work,  "catching  up"  his  work,  both  repair  and  new, 
perhaps  February  ist  offers  the  most  practical  time  to 
take  this  inventory. 

You  may  have  a  larger  or  a  smaller  bank  balance  than 
in  previous  years,  but  that  signifies  nothing.  The  cash 
balance  does  not  show  the  correct  returns ;  neither  does 
the  possession  or  lack  of  certain  goods.  Our  financial 
condition  may  be  apparently  fine  and  we  perhaps  con- 
gratulate ourselves  on  our  good  fortune.  An  inventory 
perhaps  might  show,  however,  that  our  stock  of  certain 
goods  was  enough  lower  to  offset  any  apparent  gain 
which  our  cash  on  hand  might  indicate. 

So,  too,  we  might  find  that,  instead  of  being  able  to 
pay  off  all  of  our  bills,  and  have  a  comfortable  bank  bal- 
ance, we  are  short  of  the  necessary  amount ;  and  we  may, 
therefore,  start  the  new  year  with  a  weight  upon  us.  Such 
a  condition  might  bring  discouragement,  were  it  not  for 
the  possibilities  of  our  inventory.  We  may  have  a  thou- 
sand or  two  thousand  and  more  invested  in  watches  or 
diamonds,  or  perhaps  our  stock  of  material  may  be  hun- 
dreds of  dollars  more  than  in  previous  years.  In  any 
case,  whether  we  can  show  a  gain  or  not,  an  inventory  is 
nec^isary.  Another  thing,  aside  from  the  immediate  re- 
sults of  knowing  just  where  we  stand,  is  the  finding  of 
articles  in  quantities  of  which  we  never  dreamed,  and 
which  perhaps  we  contemplated  reordering. 

How  should  we  go  about  taking  an  inventory?  On 
watch  cases  and  movements  and  goods  of  that  kind, 
where  there  is  an  absolute  value  to  them,  it  is  com- 
paratively an  easy  matter  to  inventory  them.  On  jewelry 
and  kindred  articles  the  net  prices  should  prevail,  and 
even  from  these  a  discount  should  be  taken  to  allow  for 
any  depreciation.  It  is  no  advantage  for  a  man  to  in- 
ventory his  stock  at  a  higher  value  than  it  actually  is. 


100  EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


Whom  does  he  deceive  by  marking  down  the  highest 
price  on  everything?  Not  himself  because  in  his  mmort 
mind  he  must  confess  that  it  should  be  considerably  less. 
Not  his  creditors,  because  they  do  not  know  unless  he 
finds  it  necessary  to  make  arrangements  \Mth  them  re- 
garding  the  payment  of  his  debts.  How  often  we 
of  noi^l  assets  and  real  assets.  In  our  papers  of  tius 
wedc  in  chronicling  the  assignment  of  a  local  jeweler, 
is  found  the  statement  of  nominal  assets  $17,000,  wia 
real  assets  of  $9,000.  Wherein  does  this  difference  Uef- 
Of  course,  one  may  inventory  accounts,  which  may  or 
may  not  be  collectible.  This  may  account  for  some 
difference,  but  a  good  part  must  be  in  an  imperfect  m- 
ventory,  or  in  not  making  allowance  for  depreciatioii 

each  year.  .  . 

On  diamonds,  which  are  constantly  advancing,  market 
prices  should  prevail  in  making  the  inventory.  In  in- 
ventorying our  fixtures,  a  certain  per  cent,  should  Dc 
deducted  each  year,  as  in  time  we  will  throw  than  out 
and  replace  with  new,  and  if  we  have  deducted  each  year 
from  their  cost  it  will  not  seem  like  parting  with  so 
much.  Many  inventory  showcases  year  after  year  at 
the  cost  price,  when,  perhaps,  they  can  buy  later,  mor« 
modem,  and  practical  store  furniture,  for  less  money. 
Wherein  does  the  satisfaction  He?  A  man  might  just  as 
well  hug  ten  one-dollar  biUs  and  say  over  »nd  over  to 
himself,  "I've  one  hundred  doUars  in  my  pocket.  When 
he  comes  to  spend  them  he  will  notice  the  Oitterence 
more  pronounced. 

If  a  man  is  running  behind  each  year  m  busmess,  it 
is  certainly  worth  while  knowmg  it.  There  may  he 
means  and  methods  in  practice  in  the  store  which  may 
be  more  expensive  than  they  are  worth.  Perhaps  the 
store  is  doing  more  advertising  than  it  should  Many 
things  are  brought  out  by  an  inventory  which,  if  known, 
one  can  profit  thereby.  I  have  read  of  a  young  man  who, 
taking  a  positiwi  with  a  large  mercantile  firm,  found 
after  a  short  time  with  the  concern  that  the  principal 
method  practised  by  them  to  maiket  their  goods  was  an 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


101 


unnecessary  form  of  expense,  and  that  the  profits  of  the 
concern  could  be  materially  increased  by  doing  away  with 
the  method  so  long  established.  He  hesitated  about 
speaking  to  the  head  of  the  firm  about  it,  and,  when  he 
did,  found  that  the  firm  was  very  much  attached  to  the 
method  and  it  needed  considerable  argument  upon  his 
part  to  have  them  try  the  experiment'  of  leaving  it  alone. 
Six  months'  time  justified  his  position  and  made  him  the 
confidential  man  of  the  firm. 

Such  things  brought  out  by  an  inventory  should  be 
taken  advantage  of.  The  inventory  should  be  exact  to 
the  cent,  if  possible,  and  we  should  be  on  the  alert  to 
obtain  all  the  information  therefrom  which  we  can,  aside 
from  knowledge  of  our  immediate  possessions,  and,  hav- 
ing such  knowledge,  to  govern  ourselves  accordingly. 


I02 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 


A  FEW  THOUGHTS  OF  GENTLE  SPRING. 

Signs  of  String*  Even  Spring  Jewelry  Announcements 
Plcaie  the  People— Encourage,  by  Timely  Wmdow  Dis- 
plays, the  Army  of  Lookers  That  is  Constantly  on  the 
Increase  Wi^  Milder  Weather. 

IN  some  sections  of  the  country  it  will  be  taken  as  an 
attempt  at  humor  to  discourse  on  spring  and  its 
natural  effects  on  the  jewelry  business.    Yet,  nev- 
ertheless, the  time  to  talk  spring  jewelry  business  is  in 
the  spring.   All  people  who  are  residents  oi  the  north- 
cm  our  grand  and  glorious  country  have  had  an 
elegint  sufiSciency  of  cold,  stormy  weather  by  March  i. 
and  have  grown  weary  in  their  strenuous  efforts  at  shov- 
cUng  coal  and  snow.    All  these  welcome  any  sign  of 
sprmg,  even  a  spring  announcement  in  the  nevvspapers, 
speateie  of  the  fact  that  the  balmy  days  of  spring 
aic  nea?  at  hand,  and  that  you  have  received  a  new 
Ime  of  spring  goods  which  are  now  on  exhibition  at  yo^^ 
store,  and  that  while  you  are  ready  and  willmg  toscu 
your  customers  what  they  want,  whenever  they  Bit  rcaay 
to  buy,  you  are  now  ready  and  anxious  to  have  toe 
pleasure  of  showing  the  new  things  which  you  now  have 

ui  stock.  ^  «i       •  At. 

Encourage  looking,  in  the  spring  as  well  as  in  the 
fall  At  Christmas  time  pec^lc  fed  freer  than  at  any 
other  time  of  the  year  to  enter  the  jewelry  stores  and  see 
what  is  new  and  obtain  information  and  prices  regardi^ 
goods.  They  feel  this  way  because  all  stores  are  extend- 
ing printed  announcements  of  their  desire  to  have  people 
come,  look,  admire,  and  buy  if  they  wish.  As  a  niatter 
of  fact,  the  department  stores  sell  many  little  knick4aiadcs 
which  the  jeweler  might  just  as  well  have  sold,  bemuse 
they  encourage  people  to  enter  and  look  around.  Each 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


103 


jeweler  who  advertises  helps  himself  and  his  fellows, 
and  is  also  benefited  by  their  advertising.  Advertise  now 
for  "lookers,''  and  be  prepared  for  them  when  they  come. 
If  people  enter  your  store  to  look  at  goods,  even  if  they 
do  not  buy  a  cent's  worth,  either  then  or  later,  they  have 
done  you  a  favor.  It  is  worth  money  to  have  the  reputa- 
tion of  being  a  busy  jewelry  store.  People  standing  in 
the  store  leaving  work  do  not  know  that  the  two  ladies 
next  to  them  looking  at  diamond  pendants  are  not  going 
to  buy.  They  will  speak  of  it  at  home,  as  will  also  the 
two  "lookers."  To  make  people  familiar  with  your  store 
should  be  your  aim. 

We  should  look  ahead,  notwithstanding  the  Good 
Book's  advice,  "Take  no  thought  of  the  morrow."  But, 
besides  looking  ahead,  we  should  hustle  to  make  our 
dreams  come  true.  Before  beginning  our  spring  cam- 
paign we  should  first  get  ready  for  it  by  cleaning  up  all 
through  the  store — walls,  ceilings,  fixtures  and  stock; 
using  a  duster  where  necessary,  a  paint  brush  if  it  will 
serve  our  purpose  better,  and  not  be  too  saving  in  the 
matter  of  clean  cards  on  the  goods.  Our  show  windows 
should  show,  to  those  not  desirous  of  troubling  us  with- 
out purchasing,  a  general  idea  of  the  newest  and  most 
desirable  goods  which  we  have  in  stock.  Other  stores 
may  have  more  kinds  of  goods  in  stock  and  a  greater 
variety  of  each,  but  if  they  do  not  bring  them  properly  to 
the  attention  of  the  purchasing  public,  and  you  do  keep 
a  fair  selection  of  such  goods  in  your  show  window, 
you  can  sell  twice  as  many  goods  as  the  larger  store 
which  makes  no  effort  to  obtain  the  business.  Of  course, 
sales  at  this  season  are  not  as  a  general  rule  as  large  as 
at  holiday  time,  because  they  are  generally  sold  to  the 
user  direct,  but  there  are  numerous  lines  which  we  can 
feature  to  profit  during  the  coming  weeks. 

As  the  weather  moderates  and  becomes  warm  enough, 
people  feel  like  stopping  to  look  in  the  show  windows, 
and  ladies  begin  to  look  around,  not  necessarily  for  new 
designs  in  jewelry,  but  for  new  designs  in  millinery  and 
dress  goods.   Each,  however,  will  gladly  stop  and  glance 


104 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


in  an  attractively  decorated  jewelry  store  window,  and 
involuntarily  indulge  in  the  mental  choosing  of  certain 
goods  shown  therein.  This,  then,  presents  the  jeweler 
with  an  opportunity  for  increasing  his  sales.  He  should 
devote  extra  time  to  the  show  window  and  have  the  sur- 
roundings as  pretty  as  he  can,  and  show  therein  articles 
of  trifling  expense,  together  with  more  expensive  ones, 
which  necessarily  form  a  part  of  a  lady's  or  a  gentleman'b 
toilette. 

Overcoats  and  jackets  and  furs  are  thrown  off  with 
the  approach  of  spring,  and,  as  they  are  discarded,  little 
articles  whose  ownership  has  been  put  off  become  real 
necessities,  as  the  old  ones  will  not  do  any  longer.  So 
we  will  find  the  ladies  interested  in  watch  chains,  neck 
chains,  brooches,  bracelets,  waist  sets,  belt  buckles,  hat 
pins,  stock  pins,  stick  pins,  bead  neck  chains,  lockets  and 
chains,  and  countless  other  little  articles  of  nominal  ex- 
pense which  a  lady  will  buy  for  herself  if  her  husband, 
brother  or  best  fellow  overlooks  them. 

The  gentleman  will  be  interested  in  a  display  of  watch 
chains,  ribbon  and  metal  fobs,  cuflF  buttons,  necktie  pins, 
rings,  and  so  on.  It  is  not  my  intention  to  make  here- 
with a  list  of  suitable  articles  for  displays.  Each  jew- 
eler is  the  best  judge  of  that  himself.  What  the  writer 
wishes  to  do  is  to  impress  upon  all  the  importance  of 
pushing  these  smaller  articles  at  the  season  of  the  year 
when  Nature  puts  on  her  spring  attire  and  all  the  world 
joins  with  her  in  trying  to  eclipse  all  previous  efforts. 
As  each  one  feels  the  necessity  of  buying  something  new 
in  the  clothing  or  dress  goods  line,  so  tmch  one  also  feels 
the  need  of  something  from  one  of  our  stocks.  Easter 
this  year  comes  so  ]£tt  that  we  cannot  afford  to  await 
its  coming  before  makmg  a  bid  for  spring  business,  but 
we  must  get  alter  it  now. 

A  famous  statesman  once  said,  "the  way  to  resume  is 
to  resume."  In  like  manner,  the  way  to  do  busiiiess  is 
to  do  it  We  should  be  sol  only  wSQinff  to  take  in  monev 
and  make  bank  dq>osito,  but  we  shomd  hustle  to  merit 
that  success  whkh  we  so  much  crave.  'WtMng,  unae- 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS.  loS 


companied,  amounts  to  naught.  The  corner  loafer 
wishes  for  money,  because  of  its  purchasing  power,  but 
he  does  not  want  to  work  to  get  it.  What's  worth  hav- 
ing is  worth  working  for,  and  if  we  wish  to  enjoy  the 
pleasure  and  satisfaction  of  a  fine  spring  business,  we 
must  now,  to-day,  get  under  way  toward  bringing  about 
this  condition  of  affairs.  While  each  store  has  a  certain 
run  of  trade,  which  naturally  comes  to  it  for  all  ordinary 
purchases,  it  is  possible,  by  having  worthy  window  dis- 
plays, to  attract  to  our  store  a  generous  portion  of  this 
trade  for  articles  moderate  in  price. 


io6 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


GHAiPTER  XXVI 


JUNE  WEDDINGS  AND  GRADUATIONS. 

A  Great  Opportunity  for  the  Hustling  Retailer  to  Sell  Suit- 
able Presents  for  the  Various  Parties  Concerned — Some 
Valuable  Hints  to  Jewelry  Store  Keepers  for  Getting 
Business. 

WHAT  is  so  rare  as  a  day  in  June!"  The  writer 
thereof  was  probably  thinking  of  the  beautiful 
days  of  June,  when  we  stand  on  the  threshold 

of  summer,  and  when  everything  in  the  vegetable  king- 
dom, the  fruit  and  shade  trees,  and  the  grass,  are  all  in 
the  height  of  their  beauty  and  development.  The  jew- 
eler, like  all  others,  appreciates  the  beautiful  days  of 
June;  but,  aside  from  the  weather,  he  is  interested  in 
June  for  other  more  forcible  reasons.  From  time  im- 
memorial, June  has  been  considered  the  month  of  roses 
and  of  weddings.  Roses  bring  delight  to  the  thou- 
sands and  millions  of  our  'people.  The  wedding  of 
a  relative  or  friend  makes  necessary  the  purchase 
of  various  tokens  of  esteem  and  friendship  for  the 
bride,  and  she  in  turn  remembers  her  maid  of  hcmor  and 
bridesmaids  with  little  tokens;  whilst  the  groom  must 
present  his  bride,  his  best  man,  and  his  ushers,  with  suit- 
able souvenirs  of  the  joyous  occasion.  While  many 
relatives  and  intimate  friends  (knowing  the  resources 
and  needs  of  the  young  couple)  may  make  presents  of 
furniture  and  the  like,  the  majority  of  guests  invited  to 
a  wedding  naturally  turn  to  the  jeweler  for  the  present 
which  they  will  buy,  while  the  personal  gifts  to  bride, 
bridesmaid,  and  ushers  must  come  from  the  jeweler's. 

Now,  then,  Mr.  Jeweler,  what  are  you  going  to  do 
about  it?  Are  you  going  to  sell  these  presents,  or  are 
you  going  to  sit  idly  by,  in  contemplation  of  the  beauties 
of  nature,  while  someone  else  does  the  business?  But, 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS.  107 


you  will  argue  that  you  do  not  know  who  is  going  to  be 
married,  or,  if  you  did,  you  would  not  know  who  would 
be  invited  to  the  weddings.  True,  you  do  not,  but  there 
is  a  way  to  go  about  this  matter,  and  that  is  by  general 
advertising.  You  know  from  past  experience  that  there 
are  about  so  many  weddings  each  Jtme,  and,  by  keeping 
your  advertising  space  filled  with  announcements  in- 
forming the  public  of  your  ability  to  cater  to  their  wants 
in  the  line  of  wedding  gifts,  and  if  your  show  window 
and  salesmen  make  special  efforts  along  that  line,  great 
good  may  be  accomplished. 

What  is  worth  having  is  worth  arcing  for.  If  you 
want  the  trade  on  wedding  gifts,  let  the  people  know  of 
your  desires,  and  your  abiHty  prc^rly  to  serve  them.  It 
is  a  good  idea  to  begin  your  advertising  and  your  show 
window  displaying  of  wedding  gifts  at  an  early  date. 
Hundreds  of  people  know  now  that  they  are  to  be  in- 
vited to  a  wedding,  or  perhaps  to  several  of  them.  All 
of  them  are  naturally  on  the  lockout  for  a  suitable  pres- 
ent Place  in  your  show  window  the  handsomest  goods 
you  have  which  are  suitaUe  for  such  gifts.  Plainly 
marked  prices  should  be  on  a  few  of  the  articles,  to  give 
an  idea  of  how  the  prices  run. 

To  assist  the  salesmen,  and  also  the  customers,  lists 
should  be  made  of  suitable  presents.  There  is  nothing 
like  being  prepared  with  suggestions.  If  we  could  only 
realize  the  power  there  is  in  suggestion.  You  are  in 
business  to  sell  goods,  and  it  is  you  who  should  exercise 
your  ingenuity  and  thinking  powers  to  have  at  hand  a 
number  of  articles  to  offer  which  will  be  suitat)le.  Do 
not  leave  die  custcxner  to  ask  for  everything  which  he 
or  she  may  wish  to  look  at.  Wake  up  to  your  own  in- 
terest. Be  ready  with  an  elegant  dish,  or  whatever  it 
may  be,  and  be  prepared  to  enthuoe  a  little  as  to  its 
merits  or  desirability  as  a  wedding  gift.  By  cultivating 
this  habit,  you  will  be  able  to  assist  people  who  are  al- 
ways looking  for  something  odd  or  out  of  the  ordinary. 
Some  people  wish  to  give  things  which  no  one  else  will. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


It  is  decidedly  to  your  interest  to  sell  these  odd  articles 
rather  than  sell  a  set  of  teaspoons  or  a  butter  knife  or 
sugar  shell  to  every  caller.  You  will  save  yourself 
many  exchanges  if  you  do  this. 

At  this  season  of  the  year  let's  hustle.  It  is  a  good 
deal  easier  to  row  with  the  current  than  against  it.  The 
current  is  with  us,  and  we  should  work  the  harder  now. 
When  peof^  are  baying  extra  efforts  should  be  made  to 
talk  convincingly  and  earnestly,  because  someone  is  go- 
ing to  sell  them  a  wedding  present.  The  jeweler  who 
is  ready  with  suggeadons,  becomes  to  the  looker  for  a 
suitable  gift,  a  friend  in  need,  and,  if  treated  right,  he  is 
coming  bade  again  -and  again.  Some  peofde  buy  the 
same  present  ^icfa  time,  rather  than  bodier  too  nmch. 
This  is  all  right,  but  get  them  started  buying  m  your 
stow. 

To  the  person  of  a  truly  economical  turn  of  mind,  the 
jewelry  store  naturally  suggests  itself,  for  there  can  be 
obtained,  at  a  cost  of  a  couple  of  dollars,  or  as  high  as 
circumstances  demand  or  permit,  a  present  which  can  be 
enjoyed  by  the  recipient  during  the  years  of  her  lifetime, 
and,  when  she  is  through  with  it,  to  be  handed  down  as 
an  heirloom  to  the  succeeding  generations.  Each  buyer 
of  a  gift  who  is  a  willing  and  a  cheerful  giver,  wishes 
his  or  her  gift  to  be  one  which  is  useful,  ornamental, 
and  lasting;  useful,  to  an  extent  that  will  demand  its 
frequent  handling;  ornamental,  in  that  dehght  and  pleas- 
ure will  attend  its  receipt ;  and  lasting,  so  that  its  owner- 
ship may  extend  through  the  many  years. 

It  seems  unnecessary  to  enumerate  suitable  gifts  for 
such  occasions.  Each  storekeeper  in  fifteen  minutes 
can  make  a  fairly  complete  list  of  appropriate  articles  for 
such  occasions.  A  Mst  of  this  kind,  printed  in  the  news- 
pi4)ers,  or  on  a  large  card  in  the  window,  will  assist 
many  in  arriving  at  a  conclusion  to  come  in  and  look. 
People  are  often  at  their  wits  end  to  know  what  to  buy, 
and  a  jeweler  is  performing  an  act  of  kindness  when  he 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


109 


offers  practical  suggestions,  and  he  is  the  first  to  d^irivc 
benefit  from  his  ''bread  cast  upon  the  waters." 

A  n(  A^spaper  ad.  at  this  season  of  the  year  should  go 
directly  to  the  point.  A  heading,  'That  Wedding  Gift. 
Let  us  help  you  out,"  to  be  followed  with  sensible  advice 
or  list  A  practicable  gifts,  will  generally  bring  satisfac- 
tory results.  The  gifts  for  bridesmaids  and  ushers 
should  also  be  advertised.  Your  store,  although  the 
first  in  your  own  mind,  may  not  be  in  others.  You 
should  strive  to  make  it  so  if  possible. 

The  desire  to  acquire  money  and  the  many  things  it 
will  purchase,  is  inherent  with  ail ;  not  so  the  willingness 
to  <eam  it  Let  us  be  of  that  number  who,  being  desir- 
ous of  success,  are  willing  to  earn  it.  People  generally 
appreciate  most  y/hat  costs  them  most.  As  the  wedding 
season  and  its  accompanying  gifts  is  the  most  inqwrtant 
field  at  present  for  us  to  work,  let  us  endeavor  to  sell 
wedding  gifts. 

Then,  too,  in  June,  a  new  bunch  of  sweet  girl  gradu- 
ates, and  young  men,  too,  will  step  forth  upon  their  sev- 
eral platforms  to  receive  their  diplomas,  as  the  reward 
for  their  years  of  efforts.  Whether  these  indicate  the 
completion  of  a  university,  academy,  or  district  school 
course,  to  the  one  who  receives  the  sheepskin,  and  to 
their  relatives  and  friends,  it  is  an  event  in  their  lifetime, 
and  as  such  in  the  past  few  years  it  has  come  to  be  con- 
sidered fitting  of  some  kind  of  notice,  which  to  the  rela- 
tives and  friends  means  coming  up  to  the  scratch  with  a 
gift  of  some  kind.  The  jeweler  should  feel  called  upon 
to  display  his  utmost  efforts  in  endeavoring  to  turn  the 
traffic  for  these  goods  toward  his  store.  Anything  in 
your  stock  is  acceptable,  although  moderate  priced  arti- 
cles will  prove  the  most  popular  with  the  majority  of 
people. 

When  we  consider  that  June  is  the  wedding  month, 
and  so,  as  a  natural  result,  the  wedding  anniversary 
month,  and  as  it  is  the  graduation  month,  it  seems  to  me 
that  outiide  of  Deoember,  it  offers  greater  results,  for  an 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


equal  expenditure  of  effort,  than  any  other  month  of  the 
year. 

Your  show  window  should  be  productive  of  great 
good  during  the  month.  Change  the  goods  often,  but 
keep  a  general  line  of  articles  therein.  This  is  not  the 
time  of  year  to  run  in  specialty  windows,  i.  c,  windows 
in  which  nothing  but  watches  will  oe  found,  or  nothing 
but  chains.  Such  displays  should  be  made  at  other  sea- 
sons of  the  year.  Selections  from  your  different  depart- 
ments should  be  placed  in  your  window.  Have  every- 
thing appear  new ;  act  pleased  when  customers  ask  to  be 
shown  articles  from  your  wndow,  even  if  it  is  a  difficult 
matter  to  get  them  out.  Be  pleasant  and  tactful,  cour- 
teous and  confident.  All  these  qualifications  are  n«»8- 
sary  to  make  a  success  of  salesmanship.  Sometimes  the 
right  word  spoken  helps  the  customer  over  the  line  of 
indecision  to  the  point  of  buying. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


Ill 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 


J£W£LRY  BUSINESS  IN  SUMM£R  TIMB. 

Consideration  Ftom  the  Retaaers'  Standpoint— Keep  Your 
Storei  JiMt  at  Attractive  as  in  Winter—Push  the  Sale- 
•Mctemmer  Articles  to  the  Fhmt— Exceptional  Oppor- 
tnnities  Made  by  Poretfioiiglit  and  "Hustling. 

IN  the  cold  winter  days,  when  the  thermometer  is 
hugging  the  zero  mark,  we  all  sigh  for  the  "good 
old  summer  time,"  about  which  we  have  all  sung. 
But  when  Ac  summer  days  arrive,  we  are  overtaken  by 
ttiat  tu^d  or  languid  feeling,  and  we  become  lax  in  our 
business  methods,  and  allow  our  btisiness  to  drift  along, 
furnishing  its  own  current  Because  of  this  fact,  we 
find  jewelers  generally  setting  aside  July  and  August  as 
the  dull  months,  and  making  no  effort  to  change  tfie  con- 
ditions. Except  for  one's  own  personal  feelings,  how- 
ever, there  is  no  reason  why  business  should  be  so  much 
slower  during  those  two  months  than  during  the  other 
months  of  the  year.  True,  people  are  taking  their  an- 
nual vacations,  which  takes  them  from  the  city,  and  also 
takes  money  in  large  quantities,  of  which  the  jeweler 
might  otherwise  get  a  share. 

But  that  is  no  reason  why  we  should  pass  into  a  coma- 
tose condition  on  this  account,  from  which  we  awake  in 
the  fall,  and  make  lightning-like  efforts  to  regain  lost 
ground.  It  makes  no  difference  what  the  natural  con- 
ditions are,  they  can  be  changed  by  a  little  exertion. 

People  who  are  going  away  for  visits  need  the  services 
of  the  jeweler  in  one  way  or  another.  Their  watches 
perhaps,  need  overhauling  and  putting  in  proper  order 
before  leaving  the  city.  Or,  perhaps,  their  diamonds 
need  resetting;  also  their  other  jewelry  need  repah-s  of 
different  sorts.  Then,  again,  the  offer  can  be  made  to 
make  such  repairs  as  may  be  necessary,  and  also  to  keep 


EVANSES  ESSAYS. 


the  articles  in  your  safe  ready  for  them  upon  their  return 
from  their  outings,  if  not  needed  on  the  vacation  trip. 
These  suggestions  made  through  your  newspaper  adver- 
tismg,  will  appeal  to  many,  some  of  whom  have  never 
traded  with  you  before. 

The  summer  time  is  the  natural  time  to  boom  the  re- 
pairing end  of  our  business;  why?  because  we  can  af- 
ford to  use  our  advertising  space  and  our  window  space, 
to  push  this  branch  of  our  business,  which  would  seem  a 
waste  of  valuable  space  at  the  busier  seasons  of  the  year. 

Advertisements  soliciting  repairing  should  be  written 
clearly  and  concisely ;  convincing  in  statement,  and  sim- 
ple in  language.  All  technical  terms  should  be  omitted ; 
readers,  however,  should  be  made  to  appreciate  that  you 
arc  perfectly  familiar  with  the  repairing  department  of 
your  business. 

Then  agam  your  window  can  be  used  for  advertising 
yowr  repairing  dqwurtment  at  this  season  of  the  year, 
when  the  same  use  of  it  at  other  seasons  would  be  a 
waste  of  valuable  space.  Without  its  repair  departments 
many  a  store  could  not  exist.  The  prefer  development 
of  the  repairing  departments  means  a  considerable 
growth  in  the  sdling  end  of  the  business.  Therefore, 
let  us  have  a  "repairing  department  window;"  or  more 
than  one  if  possible. 

Arrange  material  of  different  kinds  in  groups  through 
the  window.  Quite  an  interesting  group  can  be  made 
of  jewelry  findings,  such  as  bars,  swivels,  toggles,  but- 
ton backs,  pendant  bows,  and  so  on.  Watch  material, 
such  as  mainsprings,  crowns  and  stems,  and  similar  ma- 
terial will  interest  many  to  stop  and  look  in  your  win- 
dow. The  more  repairing  you  do,  the  more  people  you 
meet;  and  the  more  possible  chances  are  yours  for  niak- 
ing  a  sale  either  then  or  later. 

The  summer  months  have  always  been  good  months 
for  the  repairing  end  of  the  business ;  this  illustrates  the 
fact  that  there  are  a  great  many  people  left  in  town,  not- 
withstanding the  many  who  are  enjoying  their  vacations. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS.  113 


Vacations  make  necessary  the  purchase  of  many  little 
accessories,  and,  while  most  of  these  are  not  from  the 
realms  of  the  jeweler,  still  there  are  many  little  things 
which  may  be  bought  from  us,  if  we  but  remind  our 
friends  and  customers  of  the  many  little  articles  of  vari- 
ous kinds  which  we  have  for  sale,  which  would  make 
their  outing  more  enjoyable  if  they  possessed  them. 
Take,  for  instance,  field-glasses.  How  often  we  hear 
people  speaking  with  r^et  (while  viewing  swne  more 
fortunate  personage  looking  through  his  field-glasses  from 
a  mountain  height,  or  other  vantage  point,),  and  wishing 
that  among  their  other  purchases  they  had  included  field 
glasses.  This  same  man  will  take  a  vacation  another 
year  and  pcriiaps  wiU  again  leave  without  his  field- 
glasses  unless  you  remind  him  through  your  window, 
and  your  advertisements,  of  the  satisfaction  and  delight 
which  follow  the  purchase  of  a  first-dass  article  of  this 
kind. 

That  is,  however,  but  the  beginning  of  the  story. 
Your  stock  will  furnish  you  many  a  suggestion  of  the 
kmd  of  goods  to  bring  forward  to  stimulate  sales.  Many 
articles  of  your  stock  are  distinctly  sumnjer  goods ;  such 
as  belt  buddes,  sash  pins,  waist  sets,  fobs,  for  both  men 
and  women ;  and,  besides  these,  there  are  stick  pins,  cuff 
buttons,  brooches,  silver  artides  and  fountain  pens.  All 
these  will  find  ready  sale  if  kept  wdl  at  the  front. 

Stick  pms  and  cuff  buttons  of  moderate  price  will  meet 
with  the  approval  of  all  the  young  men  and  women  who 
go  on  vacation  trips. 

1  Sood  iountain  pen  advertisement  will  often  stimu- 
late the  sale  of  many  of  these  commodities,  to  the  man 
or  woman  who  is  going  away  for  the  summer,  as  well 
as  to  those  who  will  ^nd  the  summer  in  town.  Women 
as  well  as  men  are  becoming  addicted  to  the  fountain 
pai  habit,  and  you  might  as  weU  seU  your  share  of  them 
10  my  mind,  the  summer  presents  exceptional  oppor- 
hinities  to  the  man  who  wiU  hustle.  If  you  allow  your- 
self to  sleep  through  the  warm  weather,  if  you  let  your 


114 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


windows  become  dirty  and  flyspecked,  if  you  do  not 
change  your  display  with  your  accustomed  regularity 
and  allow  the  goods  to  become  tarnished  and  cards  to 
become  dusty,  if  you  act  as  though  you  did  not  expect 
to  do  business,  then,  indeed,  will  you  find  the  summer 
months  to  be  dull  ones.  On  the  other  hand,  if  you  keep 
things  going  by  working  a  little  harder,  and  taking  your 
vacation  outside  of  the  store  and  not  in  it,  and  keep 
everything  clean  and  fresh  looking,  then  you  haV'C  my 
word  for  it  you'll  not  find  the  summer  dull. 

By  hustling  you'll  keep  yourself  in  trim  for  the  fall; 
and,  besides,  you  will  have  no  time  to  think  about  slow 
business.  Everything  comes  to  him  who  hustles.  So, 
**kt  us  all  be  be  up  -md  doing." 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 


THE  VACATION  SEASON. 
Jtwelers  Cannot  Afford  to  Not  Participate  in  it— It  is  Bet- 
ter for  Business  and  Necessary  to  Your  Health—TliM 
•re  Various  Ways— So  Take  One. 

€€  \^  ai)oard  for  the  lakes  and  mountains!"  If 
xV.    ^«         the  advertising  pages  of  any  of  the 
current  numbers  of  the  magazines  we  will 
find  that  according  to  the  railroad  advertising,  the  proper 
ttimg  to  do  at  this  season  of  the  year  is  to  take  a  vaca- 
ma.   in  the  last  ten  years  the  vacation  habit  has  devel- 
oped to  a  great  extent   Previous  to  that  time  there  were 
but  few  people  who  took,  each  year,  a  vacation  from 
their  work.    Mmisters  and  others  in  similar  pursuits 
seemed  to  feel  the  need  of  relaxation  and  change,  but  the 
storekeeper,  hardest  woriced  of  all  men,  did  not  see  his 
way  clear  to  give  himself  the  mudi  needed  vacatkm.  To- 
day  all  this  has  been  changed;  so  that  he  who  denies 
mmself  of  at  least  a  few  days'  absence  from  bu^ness  is  in 
the  minonty  decidedly.    Men  have  come  to  a  realization 
of  the  fact  that  the  clear  head  and  refreshed  body  can  ac- 
ccmphsh  much  more  than  the  tired  body  and  head,  whfch 
has  to  constantly  drive  itself  to  keep  agoing.  Unless 
some  definite  plans  are  formukted,  however,lhe  summer 
may  sUp  away  before  you  arrive  at  the  starting  point 

Many  put  off  such  matters  tiU  they  can  get  away  better. 
Iheir  busmess  has  been  so  rushing  that  tfiey  do  not  see 
how  they  can  be  spared.  If  such  has  been  their  good 
fortune  they  need  and  shouM  take  a  vacation.  Many 
others,  perhaps,  have  undergone  a  sknv  season,  and  thev 
oftentimes  do  not  feel  that  they  can  stand  die  necessarv 
expense  to  take  a  vacation.  Nevertheless,  tiie  latter  men- 
tioned should  take  one.  Your  powers  of  salesmanship 
apparently  diminished,  will  be  reinforced  by  your  outine! 
Whether  busmess  has  been  good  or  bftd,  you  need  a  nS, 


ii6  EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


and  need  to  get  away  from  your  store.  Even  machinery 
needs  rest,  and  the  human  machine  more  than  all.  Let 
us  take  a  glance  around  us,  and  we  will  notice  that  when 
a  man  is  forced  to  be  absent  from  his  business  because 
of  sickness,  that  his  business  will  proceed  as  before.  Or, 
perhaps,  a  doctor  prescribes  a  trip  involving  expense  and 
absence  from  business,  and,  because  one  is  thoroughly 
scared,  thinking  of  possible  results,  he  concedes  the  doc- 
tor's advice  to  be  sound  and  acquiesces.  Then  why 
should  we  wait  to  take  a  vacation  until  we  are  in  such 
shape  that  we  cannot  enjoy  it?  Why  not  form  the  habit 
of  taking  a  week  or  two  each  summer,  as  the  years  come 
and  go,  to  enjoy  a  much  needed  rest? 

If  we  will  notice  how  other  businesses  figure  so  that 
each  has  a  suitable  vacation  each  year,  it  will  impress  us 
more  and  more  with  the  idea  that  there  is  good  sense  in 
so  doing.  A  man  will  not  allow  his  help  to  all  have  a 
week  or  two  off  each  year,  at  his  expense,  unless  he  knows 
that,  because  of  the  reinforcement  to  the  physical  system, 
they  are  better  enabled  to  carry  out  the  work  which  he 
employs  them  to  do.  We  find  filling  positions  in  banks, 
college  boys  home  on  vacations,  who  are  given  these  posi- 
tions during  the  vacation  season  for  the  purpose  of  filling 
the  places  of  those  absent.  A  jeweler  need  not  hire  in 
any  additional  help  for  the  purpose,  however.  But,  by 
taking  vacations  one  at  a  time,  and  of  moderate  length, 
those  remaining  behind  can  keep  up  the  woric,  because 
there  is  not  such  a  rush  at  this  season  of  the  year. 

Surely  a  jeweler  needs  a  vacation  if  any  man  does.  He 
works  from  early  morning  till  late  in  the  evening,  many 
working  every  night  in  &c  week  till  nine  o'dodc.  He 
goes  from  home  to  the  store  and  from  the  store  to  his 
home.  He  gradually  grows  narrow  and  **rutty."  He 
needs  to  get  away  from  himself.  He  should  get  out  and 
see  the  world ;  get  away  from  the  idea  that  the  little  side 
street  store  whidi  he  conducts  is  the  centre  of  the  uni- 
verse. He  should  get  out  into  the  open  and  get  acquaint- 
ed with  the  hcauties  and  glories  of  nature,  and  come  to  a 
realizing  sense  of  the  fact  that  he  is  a  man,  widi  all  the 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


powers  of  a  man,  and  that  his  little  store  can  be  run  with- 
out him  for  a  week.  He  can  then  come  back  renewed  in 
strength,  and  quickly  regain  any  lost  ground  because  of 
his  absence. 

One  week  will  never  ruin  your  business,  particularly 
when  you  have  trustworthy  clerks  to  leave  in  charge.  A 
vacation  rests  one,  but  it  also  does  more  than  that.  It 
naturally  fills  one  with  new  ideas  and  new  thoughts. 
Away  from  your  store  you  look  at  things  diflferently  and 
can  formulate  plans  for  fall  and  winter  work.  Then 
again,  while  away  you  meet  people  of  intelligence,  and 
subjects  of  different  kinds  will  l>e  informally  discussed, 
and  unconsciously  you  absorb  wisdom,  the  benefits  of 
which  will  hecome  later  appopent 

Of  course,  the  best  kind  of  rest  is  a  complete  change. 
Therefore  we  find  country  people  hastening  to  the  city 
to  spend  a  little  time,  and  more  money,  and,  while  doubt- 
less returning  home  wearied,  they  are  neverdieless  re- 
freshed from  their  outing.  But  die  city  man  wants  to 
get  out  of  town,  and  he  either  arranges  a  visit  to  ^ends 
or  relatives  in  suburban  districts,  or  catdies  the  train  or' 
boat  for  a  lake  or  mountain  resort.  Many  combine  busi- 
ness witfi  pleasure,  those  journeying  to  the  great  buying 
centres,  and,  finding  out  what  is  new,  buy  goods  for  the 
fell.  They  usually  vary  these  proceedings  by  an  occa- 
sional side  trip  to  resorts  of  pleasure,  whidi  are  generally 
near  at  hand.  Or,  perh^,  the  vacation  may  be  taken  in 
two  sections,  the  first  for  business,  and  a  few  days  f(klow- 
ing  devoted  entirely  to  resting  and  forgetting. 

After  it  is  all  over,  with  what  delight  we  start  for  home! 
After  all,  we  are  happy  that  we  have  to  w<Mk  for  a  living 
and  can  enjoy  the  excitement  of  business  life.  We  return 
from  vacations  with  renewed  enthusiasm  and  face  the 
little  discouragements  and  the  trifling  complaints  which 
often  vex  us,  without  dismay.  Work  is  a  (Measure.  We 
find  that  there  is  a  homelike  feeling  about  our  store  and 
that,  as  compared  with  others,  it  is  a  pretty  fair  place, 
after  all.  Perhaps  some  changes  may  have  suggested 
themselves  from  seeing  how  others  do  things,  or  have 


ii8 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


things  arranged.  In  any  case,  our  time  has  been  well 
spent.  Therefore,  let's  resolve  that  we  will  have  a  vaca- 
tion and  enjoy  it  to  its  full.  People  respect  you  more  and 
you  will  find  it  will  be  a  good  advertisement  for  you  to 
be  away  a  week.  Many  opticians  and  others  of  that  class 
take  a  vacation,  even  when  they  have  to  lock  up  to  do  it. 
So,  Mr.  Jeweler,  it's  up  to  you,  and  you  know  your  duty. 
So  before  the  traveling  man  gets  after  you,  with  talk 
about  holiday  goods,  get  away  and  fill  your  lungs  with 
ozone,  and  you  will  be  better  fitted  to  face  the  duties  of 
the  coming  seasons. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS.  119 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 


FALL  "OPENING  DAYS." 

Drew  up  for  the  Occasion — Advertise  the  Event  ProperljF — 
Get  the  People  to  Come  In — Particularly  the  Ladies- 
Then  is  the  Oportmiity  for  Yon  to  Do  the  Rest. 

IN  the  early  fall  why  not  have  an  opening  day? 
While  the  millinery  stores  are  the  leaders  in  this 
method  of  advertising,  the  department  and  cloth- 
ing stores  have  fallen  in  line  evidencing  their  belief  that 
the  opening  day  is  a  good  means  to  employ  to  advertise 
their  stores. 

The  reasons  for  holding  such  an  event  are  familiar  to 
all,  although  the  benefits  are  perhaps  not  so  plainly  to  be 
seen.  That  there  are  such,  none  will  gainsay,  howevef.'' 
The  jewelry  trade  has  always  been  very  conservative, 
to  say  the  least,  regarding  even  the  tried  and  true  meth- 
ods of  advertising.  As,  witness  the  few  jewelers  who 
advertise  at  any  time  of  the  year  except  during  the 
Christmas  holidays.  It  is  true  that  none  of  us  have  any 
money  to  waste,  but  if  we  are  willing  to  lay  in  the  stock 
which  we  do  during  the  fall,  on  the  expectation  of  sell- 
ing it  for  holiday  gifts,  we  should  appropriate  a  gener- 
ous amount  to  spend  in  letting  the  public  know  about 
that  fact. 

But  whether  or  not  we  use  newspaper  space  regularly, 
or  whether  or  not  we  issue  booklets,  catalogues,  etc., 
there  is  a  method  which  will  repay  us  well  for  the  labor 
and  time  expended.  The  idea  in  mind  is  the  adopting  of 
the  opening  day  as  a  regular  adjunct  of  our  fall  business. 
Whatever  stock  we  carry  during  the  rest  of  the  year,  we 
always  increase  the  same  materially  during  the  fall  in 
anticipation  of  the  demand  which  will  be  forthcoming. 
These  goods  are  generally  in  stock  for  several  wedcs  at 
least  before  tlie  demand  for  tiiotn  begins,  or  even  the 


120 


EVANS!S  ESSAYS 


lockers  get  out.  Why,  then,  will  it  not  pay  the  jeweler 
to  set  aside  one  or  two  days  in  which  he  will  conduct  a 
jewelry  show?  Days  when  people  will  feel  free  to  come 
in  and  lode  to  their  heart's  content,  stay  as  long  as  diey 
wish,  and  leave  at  their  own  convenience.  Under  such 
conditions  people  will  visit  your  store  who  have  never 
done  so  before,  and  who  would  not  under  ordinary  con- 
ditions venture  in.  Every  one  have  stores  where 
they  are  in  the  habit  of  trading,  and  will  not  bother  an- 
other tradesman  unless  they  have  some  notion  of  buying. 
Such  peqple,  however,  accept  gladly  an  invitation  ex- 
tended to  call  on  an  <q)ening  day,  as  people  have  generally 
come  to  know  what  these  occasions  mean,  and  they 
realize  that  no  obligation  exists  for  them  to  spend  a  cent 
at  such  a  time.  Jewelers  should  remember  Uiat  looking 
comes  before  buying,  and  should  therefore  be  glad  to 
have  people  come  and  look,  because  that  is  the  fii^  step 
toward  buying.  The  more  lookers  you  have,  the  more 
buyers  you  will  have.  Having  demonstrated  the  value 
of  "opening  days,"  let  us  consider  the  way  to  go  at  it  to 
make  such  an  affair  a  success. 

First  of  all,  we  must  dean  up  our  store.  Our  store 
must  be  put  in  "  spic  and  span"  shape.  If  the  outside 
needs  painting,  have  it  done.  See  that  your  walls  and 
cdlings  are  in  good  cooditicm.  Apply  paint  and  elbow 
grease  wherever  necessary.  After  we  have  put  the  store 
itself  into  good  shape,  we  must  go  over  our  show  cases 
and  see  that  the  glass  is  thoroug^y  cleaned  inside  and 
out.  Then  we  must  go  over  our  stock.  Everything 
which  is  not  new  should  be  looked  over  and  cleaned  if 
necessary,  then  retagged  or  recarded ;  boxed  goods  should 
be  dusted  and  arranged;  old  boxes  changed  for  new, 
and  so  on.  While  th^  tmdertakings  are  under  way 
the  preliminary  arrangements  should  be  gone  through 
with.  A  well-worded  letter  explaining  your  intention  to 
hereafter  conduct  opening  days,  at  which  time  you  intend 
to  show  the  latest  designs  in  watches,  rings,  jewelry, 
silver  novelties,  etc.,  and  when  it  will  be  a  pleasure  to  you 
to  have  the  public  in  general,  and  the  ones  addressed  in 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS,  121 


particular,  visit  yoar  store,  in^)ect  the  latest  creations 
in  die  jewelry  world,  price  goods,  ask  questions,  and  feel 
that  they  are  perfectly  at  home;  when  no  effort  will  be 
made  to  effect  sales,  but  only  to  make  customers  feel 
that  they  have  an  interest  in  that  particular  jewelry  store, 
and  that  you  wish  them  to  be  informed  of  your  prepara- 
tions for  the  fall  trade. 

The  store's  windows  should  be  trimmed  extra  fine, 
because  of  the  event.  A  few  palms  or  potted  fhnts,  set 
in  appropriate  places  in  the  window  and  through  the 
store  will  help  to  give  the  store  a  handsome  and  attract- 
ive appearance.  While  it  is  a  good  idea  to  use  flowers, 
we  should  remember  that  we  are  showing  jewelry,  and 
not  have  so  many  plants  around  that  it  will  present  the 
appearance  of  being  a  flower  show. 

In  many  stores  souvenirs  are  given  away  on  such  occa- 
sions. If  it  is  desired  to  give  away  something  in  diis 
nature,  flowers  make  an  acceptable  gift,  cost  bat  little, 
and  create  a  favorable  impression. 

Allow  people  to  look  around  for  themselves,  but  have 
your  clerks  at  lumd  ready  to  show  them  goods  if  they 
wish.  Do  not  attempt  to  do  any  repair  work  during 
the  opening  days.  Although  you  will  not  try  to  sell 
goods,  there  will  be  some  people  present  who  are  pre- 
pared to  buy  if  they  see  things  to  their  liking.  A  sign 
should  be  displayed  to  the  effect  that  goods  selected  will 
be  laid  aside,  to  be  called  for  later.  In  this  way  you 
may  gain  immediate  results  frcmi  your  expenditure  of 
time  and  money.  Do  not,  however,  feel  dissatisfied  if 
there  is  no  immediate  result  forthcoming.  Be  patient 
Your  advertising,  though  effective,  does  not  sell  your 
goods.  It  merely  brings  the  people  to  your  store.  That 
is  all  you  can  ask  of  an  "ad."  Your  opportunity  and 
work  commences  right  there.  So,  too,  with  an  opening 
day.  If  you  can  bring  people  into  your  store  to  look, 
it  is  your  business  to  so  impress  them  with  your  store  and 
stock  that  later,  when  the  buying  season  arrives,  your 
store  will  be  the  one  which  they  will  head  for  when  they 
start  out  to  do  their  trading. 


122  EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 


HANDLINO  THE  HOLIDAY  RUSH. 

The  Retail  Jeweler  Should  Begin  in  November  to  Stir  up 
His  Customers  and  Induce  Them  to  Purchaie  Theur 
Christmas  Presents  Early. 

ABOUT  the  first  day  of  July,  and  often  earlier,  the 
retailer  begins  to  have  impressed  upon  him  the 
fact  that  "Christmas  is  coming,"  and  that  he 

must  prepare  for  it  by  buying  in  a  suitable  amount  of 
stock,  so  that  he  will  be  able  to  fill  his  customer's  require- 
ments. All  this  is  certainly  very  proper  and  commend- 
able, but  why  does  not  the  retailer  adopt  some  of  the 
wholesaler's  methods  for  obtaining  business.  True,  he 
cannot  very  well  make  a  personal  call  upon  his  custom- 
ers and  solicit  orders,  but  he  can  certainly  stimulate  trade 
and  do  business  earlier  than  usual. 

The  jobber  shows  his  good  sense  in  selling  holiday 
goods  in  the  early  fall,  Lhus  making  sure  of  doing  the 
business.  What  does  the  jeweler  do  after  making  his 
purchases?  He  marks  them  and  puts  them  in  stock,  and 
waits  patiently  until  the  month  of  December  arrives  be- 
fore he  expects  to  sell  them.  When  the  holiday  rush 
starts  he  is  busy,  and  so  are  all  the  other  stores  of  diflFer- 
ent  kinds.  He  can  only  handle  so  many  customers,  and 
is  satisfied  if  he  has  a  fair  trade.  Why  is  it  necessary  to 
wait  until  the  last  two  weeks  to  sell  Christmas  goods? 
Begin  speaking  about  it  early  to  customers  and  through 
our  advertising.  People  generally  put  off  thoughts  of 
Christmas  until  after  Thanksgiving,  believing  that  that 
is  plenty  early  to  begin  shopping.  Why  not  make  the 
effort  to  turn  these  shoppers,  when  they  come,  in*o  cus- 
tomers before  they  go?  People  who  carry  money  with 
them  often  buy  when  they  are  not  really  thinlfmg  q£  do- 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS.  123 


ing  so,  if  they  happen  to  see  something  nice  and  attract- 
ive at  a  reasonable  price  and  the  clerk  exerts  himself  to 
satisfy  them.  We  should  talk  up  the  fact  that  a  better 
selection  can  be  had  now  than  later;  that  engraving  on 
articles  can  be  better  done  now  than  later;  that  watches 
selected  can  be  run  and  regulated,  thus  giving  better  sat- 
isfaction when  taken ;  that  goods,  especially  silver  goods, 
which  it  is  desired  to  match,  must  be  ordered  early,  so 
that  no  disappointment  will  ensue,  and  so  on.  There  is 
no  reason  under  the  sun  why  all  the  retail  jewelry  busi- 
ness should  be  crowded  into  the  ten  days  just  previous  to 
Christmas  day. 

Some  customers  must  necessarily  wait  until  late  on 
account  of  lack  of  funds,  many  people  taking  their  last 
two  weeks*  pay  to  buy  Christmas  presents.  Most  of  a 
jeweler's  customers  are  more  provident  than  that,  how- 
ever, and  can  buy  an  article  one  week  just  as  well  as  the 
next.  It  is  next  to  impossible  to  add  on  any  considerable 
amount  to  the  gross  receipts  of  the  last  few  days  before 
Christmas,  but  it  is  possible  to  add  on  hundreds  of  dol- 
lars to  the  receipts  of  the  first  two  weeks  of  December, 
by  a  proper  application  of  the  various  means  we  have  at 
hand  for  making  sales.  While  not  advocating  the  boring 
of  customers,  the  writer  believes  that  wc  are  all  of  us 
too  apt  to  take  "no"  for  an  answer,  too  easily.  Our 
salesmanship  is  not  shown  by  merely  d<mig  up  a  package 
and  taking  the  money  from  a  customer  who  has  asked 
for  certain  kinds  of  goods,  and,  seeing  just  what  he 
wanted,  has  selected  it  and  paid  for  it.  Wc  should  be 
argumentative,  enthusiastic  and  forceful. 

In  handling  the  holiday  rush,  certain  preliminary  ar- 
ra^pgements  should  be  made,  which  will  facilitate  matters 
as  much  as  possible.  We  should  have  articles  arranged 
so  that  they  are  handy  to  show,  and  keep  in  order.  The 
boxes  for  articles  should  be  placed  where  they  can  easily 
be  found.  One  writer  in  a  trade  journal  advocates  an 
arrangement  for  boxes  for  odd  shaped  articles,  which 
struck  me  as  a  very  good  one.   Of  course  all  jewelers 


124  EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


have  their  regular  boxes  for  rings,  napkm  rings,  thim- 
bles, cups,  and  so  on,  but  there  are  articles  of  odd  shapes 
which  come  in  boxes  from  the  factory,  and  the  idea  of 
this  writer  was  to  have  an  arrangement  on  the  shelves 
numbered  one,  two,  three  and  so  on,  and  place  a  number 
on  the  tag  of  the  article  accordingly,  and  place  the  box 
in  its  proper  place.  Then,  when  the  sale  is  made,  in- 
stead of  grabbing  the  first  box  which  comes  handy,  and 
using  up  the  larger  boxes  for  the  smaller  articles  and 
having  at  the  last  a  lot  of  articles  without  boxes,  we  take 
the  one  intended  for  it.    This  saves  time  and  trouble. 

Opera  glass  cases  should  all  be  marked  with  the  ligne 
size  and  the  name  of  the  maker,  as  ii  ligne  Le  Maire. 
This  will  obviate  the  wasting  of  valuable  time  and  the 
giving  out  of  wrong  cases,  and  the  embarassing  fact  of 
being  unable  to  fit  a  case  to  a  glass  after  making  the  sale. 
Different  sizes  of  paper  on  rolls,  and  a  number  of  balls 
of  twine  scattered  at  convenient  places  through  the  store, 
all  go  to  make  the  handling  of  the  holiday  rush  compara- 
tively easy.  Early  buying  is  a  great  help  to  the  jeweler 
and  he  should  encourage  it  to  the  best  of  his  ability.  The 
matter  of  engraving  and  the  giving  of  a  case  are  but  su- 
perfluous accessories  to  a  gift,  but  sentiment  demands  the 
first  and  pride  the  last.  Customers  who  wish  to  be  sure 
of  both  the  engraving  and  a  case,  are  often  brought  to 
the  point  of  making  a  decision  to  buy  by  the  promise  that 
they  will  be  guaranteed  a  first  class  job  of  engraving  and 
the  case  which  they  select.  Although  the  engraving  of 
an  article  is  seldom  seen,  and  the  case  hardly  ever  used, 
yet  they  play  a  part  not  the  least  important  in  influencing 
sales.  The  jeweler  should  encourage  the  sentiment  of 
gift  giving,  and  should  assist  in  every  way  to  develop  it. 
Our  business  is  one  consisting  largely  of  luxuries,  and 
if  only  the  absolute  necessities  we  have  to  sell  were 
bought,  we  would  fare  poorly  indeed.  Within  every  one 
is  that  inborn  desire  to  purchase  either  for  their  own 
adornment  or  of  their  loved  ones,  jewels  of  varying  cost, 
according  to  their  circumstances.   Encourage  it. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


125 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 


THE  SHOW  WINDOW  DURING  D£C£MBER 

How  it  Can  Act  m  m  Sttent  Yet  Effective  Salenua— Direc- 
tioos  for  Display  lo  as  to  Make  it  Have  9w  Beet  Poaai- 
Ide  Effect 

WHILE  our  efforts  should  be. constant  to  have  a 
nice  display  of  goods  in  our  windows  at  all 
seasons  of  the  year,  the  Christmas  time  o£Fers 
the  most  immediate  returns  from  the  expenditure  of  time, 
money  and  effort  While  each  store  will  have  its  win- 
dows dressed  somewhat  similar,  and  yet  entirely  differ- 
ent, the  general  arrangement  and  effects  are  the  same. 
The  results  depend  more  on  the  ability  of  the  decorator. 
Many  a  window  decorator  can  arrange  an  elaborate  dis- 
ply  of  goods,  which,  while  pleasing  to  the  eye,  will  not 
sell  a  dollar's  worth  of  goods  as  the  direct  results  of  that 
display.  The  show  window  during  December,  while 
serving  the  same  purposes  that  it  does  during  the  other 
months  in  the  year,  acts  also  as  a  silent  salesman  of 
goods.  If  descriptions  of  articles  are  written  on  cards 
with  the  prices,  unnecessary  conversation  is  eliminated* 
The  supply  houses  furnish  plain  white  cards  on 
which  rings  may  be  mounted,  the  card  being  so  cut 
that  it  forms  an  easel  support  for  the  ring.  On  a  card 
of  this  character,  suppose  you  place  a  ring  containing 
rubies  and  pearls.  There  is  plenty  of  room  to  annex  the 
words,  "three  geiuiine  rubies,  and  two  genume  whole 
pearls,  price  $10."  Other  rings  similarly  displayed,  and 
similarly  described,  answer  the  unasked  questions  of  the 
customer  gazing  through  the  window,  and  before  he  en- 
ters your  store,  he  perhaps  has  made  his  selection,  or  if 
not  has  formed  an  idea  of  the  way  the  prices  run  for  the 
different  kinds  of  goods.  Many  people  advocate  the  dis- 
playing of  goods  without  price  cards,  on  the  theory  that 


126 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


cariosity  aroused,  the  ciist<»iiers  will  come  inside  for  par- 
ticulars, thereby  giving  the  jeweler  qppcMtunity  to  press 
his  aiiguments,  and  perhaps  complete  the  sale.  Very 
true,  ^t  how  sdxmt  the  customer  ytho  is  not  acquainted, 
and  who  feels  that  he  is  intruding  on  your  time  when  he 
enters  to  make  inquiries  only?  There  will  be  no  argu- 
ment with  him,  because  he  will  loc^  until  he  sees  what 
he  wants  in  a  window  wilh  l^e  price  plainly  marked. 

During  the  early  part  of  the  mc«th,  special  window 
for  speaal  people  can  be  made  with  good  results.  Sug- 
gestions to  the  young  man  of  suitable  gifts  for  the  young 
lady,  and  vice  versa;  presents  for  the  wife,  husband, 
mother  and  tather;  for  the  boy  and  girl  and  for  the  baby, 
all  can  be  shown  in  the  window  at  ditferent  times,  it 
will  surprise  you-  how  many  articles  you  will  find  in  your 
stock  which  will  make  suitable  presents  for  the  various 
individuals.  Doubtless  many  of  the  articles  will  be  re- 
peated in  the  different  windows.  For  the  married  wo- 
man, a  display  of  silverware,  cut  glass  and  clocks,  to- 
gether with  some  of  the  smaller  articles  of  womanly  dec- 
oration, will  offer  suggestions  to  the  husband  which  he 
will  appreciate,  and  he  will,  by  purchasing,  give  you  the 
benefits  of  reciprocity.  The  young  man  will  appreciate 
the  gift  of  a  shaving  or  smoking  set,  a  military  set,  a 
cloth  brush,  and  so  on ;  while  for  the  young  lady,  mani- 
cure sets,  toilet  sets,  necklaces  and  lockets,  brooches  and 
pendant,  bracelets  and  so  on,  together  with  the  regular 
lines,  afford  abundant  opportunity  for  a  selection.  For 
the  baby,  children's  knife,  fork  and  spoon,  a  cup,  a  nap- 
kin ring,  a  pin  set,  a  neck  chain  and  heart,  a  bracelet,  a 
rattle,  and  so  on.  For  o^er  ages  and  classes,  articles 
wiU  suggest  themselves  as  you  glance  over  your  stock. 
The  jeweler,  although  handling  but  a  single  line,  and  of- 
ten f  edmg  that  his  line  is  decidedly  limited,  will  find  by 
studying  his  stock  that  he  has  qmte  a  variety  to  select 
from.  . 

Displays  of  aH  of  a  single  Une  should  be  made  to  give 
the  public  an  idea  of  the  extent  and  variety  of  your  stock. 
Your  watch  stock  can  be  laid  in  the  trays,  or  spread  out 
in  designs  through  the  window.  The  rii^  should  also 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


127 


be  shown  at  one  time,  giving  a  complete  idea  of  the  num- 
ber and  styles  from  which  to  select.  Put  all  your  toilet 
and  manicure  sets  in  the  window  on  one  day,  and  so  on 
through  your  stock.  Window  displays  can  bt  made  at 
different  prices.  Thus  taking  everything  you  can  find  in 
your  stock  which  you  can  afford  to  «ell  for  a  dollar,  and, 
after  a  careful  arrangement  of  them  in  the  window,  place- 
a  card  over  them  to  the  effect  that  $1  buys  any  single 
article  in  the  window."  People  will  stand  outside  select- 
ing presents,  and  very  often  a  half-dozen  articles  will  be 
sold  to  one  customer,  with  hardly  a  moment's  conversa- 
tion. A  five  dollar  window  display  will  be  more  appro- 
priate, and  the  gifts  at  this  price  which  the  jeweler  can 
provide  are  almost  innumerable.  Then,  too,  window  dis- 
plays may  be  made  of  goods  of  various  prices,  yet  all  of 
them  below  $10,  and  on  such  a  display  the  fact  that  such 
is  the  case,  should  be  plainly  stated. 

Your  window,  while  it  takes  considerable  time  and 
thought  to  devise  a  pretty  display,  repays  you  fourfold 
for  aU  the  time  it  takes,  by  assisting  you  in  handling  your 
trade.  It  should  not  be  necessary  for  every  inquirer  to 
enter  your  store,  to  learn  how  the  prices  run  on  differ- 
ent lines  of  goods.  Your  window  can  do  a  great  deal  of 
explaining  relative  to  the  qualities  and  prices,  whidi  will 
save  you  the  esqtenditure  of  valuable  bieatii.  A  card 
placed  in  the  window  informing  the  trade  that  goods  se- 
lected will  be  laid  aside  for  future  delivery,  upon  the 
payment  of  a  cash  deposit  as  evidence  of  good  f aidi,  will 
bring  good  results. 

While  it  is  necessary  perhaps  to  show  a  variety  of 
goods  in  every  display,  much  time  can  be  saved  by  hav- 
ing all  of  any  one  class  of  goods,  wherever  practicable, 
in  the  window  at  the  same  time.  This  will  save  rushing 
about  the  store  in  search  of  goods,  passing  by  some,  and 
perhaps  losing  the  sale,  because  we  cannot  find  the  arti- 
cle which  they  have  looked  at  before.  Although  this  is  not 
the  haymaking  season,  we  must  all  "make  hay  while  the 
sun  shines,"  and  to  do  this  we  must  hustle,  and  we  should 
devote  a  great  part  of  that  hustling  to  decorating  the 
window. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 


HELPING  THE  PURCHASER  AT  CHRlStlfAS. 

How  to  Handle  the  Customer  Who  Wants  to  Buy  a  Suitable 
Present,  But  Who  is  Entirely  Devoid  of  Ideas — Keep 
*'a  LitUe  List"  Where  it  Can  be  £asUy  Referred  to. 

ALL  jewelers  particularly,  and  storekeepers  gener- 
ally, are  cognizant  of  the  fact  that  however  else 
our  customers  may  be  divided,  there  are  two 

great  classes  into  which  all  may  be  divided.  The  first 
class  consists  of  those  who  have  in  mind  some  definite 
article  about  which  they  wish  to  inquire  as  to  qualities 
and  prices,  which  they  wish  to  see,  and  which  they  will 
buy  then  or  later  if  they  are  satisfied.  The  second  class 
is  made  up  in  large  part  of  those  who  have  a  dozen 
things  in  mind  which  tliey  wish  to  look  at  and  who  have 
no  particular  leaning  towards  any  one  of  them.  The 
balance  of  this  class  are  those  who  are  devoid  of  the 
slightest  idea  as  to  what  they  want,  or  how  much  they 
want  to  pay.  The  first  class  is  comparatively  easy  to 
handle.  They  call  for  certain  goods,  and  the  dealer 
shows  them  what  they  ask  for,  and  naturally  tries  to  sell 
them  w  hat  they  want.  With  such  customers  it  is  gener- 
ally but  the  work  of  a  few  minutes  either  to  sell  them  or 
bid  them  good  morning.  They  know  what  they  want, 
and  if  you  have  it  not,  or  the  price  does  not  suit,  they  can 
tell  you  so,  and  either  you  find  for  them  what  they  want, 
or  inform  them  that  you  are  sorry,  but  you  have  not 
what  they  wish  in  stodc.  Which  ever  way  it  turns  out, 
such  customers  are  not  hard  to  handle. 

It  is  the  second  class  which  takes  the  jeweler's  time 
or  that  of  his  clerks,  which  is  just  the  same.  One  such 
customer  at  holiday  time  can  take  one  clerk's  time  while 
his  fellow  clerk  next  to  him  had  waited  on  a  dozen.  It 
is  not  necessarily  the  man  who  handles  a  customer  the 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


quidcest  who  enters  ^  largest  sales.  Indeed,  it  is 
oftener  tlie  odier  way.  The  deik  who  does  not  care,  or 
has  not  his  employer's  interests  at  heart,  by  showing  to 
the  customer  his  disinterestedness,  may  succeed  in  get- 
tii^  rid  of  him,  but  that  is  not  the  idea.  We  should 
strive  to  so  serve  each  customer  that  whether  or  not  we 
make  a  sale  we  have  made  a  friendly  feeling  for  the  store 
whidi  win  result  in  future  calls  and  doubtless  future  sales. 
When  a  customer  enters  with  some  definite  article  in 
mind  and  whidi  we  have  in  stock,  it  is  simplicity  itself 
to  know  how  to  wait  on  the  customer.  With  a  good  se- 
lection of  the  required  goods,  it  is  merely  a  question  of 
satisfying  the  customer  with  a  suitable  style  at  the  right 
price.  But  if  the  same  person  calls  for  something  of 
whidi  we  do  not  keep  a  stock,  is  it  good  business  to  in- 
form the  customer  bluntly  of  the  fact,  and  at  the  same 
time  ask  him  to  call  acfain  when  he  is  in  need  of  some- 
thing in  our  line?  Why  not  ask  the  customer  if  (as  is 
generally  the  case  at  holiday  time)  it  is  a  question  of 
giving  a  present,  and  if  thev  repiv  affirmativelv,  be  ready 
with  suggestions  of  other  suitable  gifts  for  the  lady  or 


been  definitely  or  finally  decided  upon.  Perhaps  that 
article  was  the  only  one  of  which  he  or  she  could  think 
of  for  the  person.  Perhaps  there  are  dozens  of  other 
articles,  all  contained  within  the  four  walls  of  the  jew- 
eler's store,  which  would  each  make  acceptable  gifts  for 
the  person  in  question,  and  which  would  satisfy  the  de- 
mands of  the  customer  both  as  to  desigfn  and  price.  This, 
then,  is  the  clerk's  opportunity  and  his  duty  to  his  em- 
plover  to  be  ready  with  suggestions. 

Study  your  stock.  Become  familiar  with  its  contents. 
If  possible,  know  every  watch  case,  ring,  and  cuflF  button 
personally,  have  the  designs  even  burnt  in  your  mind,  so 
that  you  will  not  be  compelled  to  stare  blankly  at  a  cus- 
tomer when  an  inquiry  is  made  about  some  particular 
design  of  artide  which  has  perhaps  been  shown  in  yotu* 
own  window. 


130  EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


There  are  lots  of  ways  by  which  we  can  facilitate  the 
handling  of  customers,  and  one  of  them  is  the  malcing  of 
alphabetical  lists  of  appropriate  articles  for  gifts  for  dif- 
ferent classes  of  people.  Thus  go  through  your  stock 
and  notice  what  you  have  that  will  make  a  lady  a  Christ- 
mas gift,  jotting  it  down  as  you  go,  and  when  you  have 
completed  your  list  notice  how  many  articles  there  are 
contained  in  it  which  you  have  never  before  suggested  to 
anyone  as  being  suitable  for  a  lady's  gift.  Then  make  a 
list  of  presents  for  the  gentlemen,  and  then  one  for  the 
household  and  one  for  the  little  folks.  Then  you  will 
be  prepared.  Study  the  list  so  that  it  will  not  be  neces- 
sary to  refer  to  it  every  time  a  caller  enters  the  store, 
but  have  it  handy  to  refer  to  if  necessary.  There  are 
some  articles  in  a  jeweler's  store  which  he  seems  to  hang 
on  to,  and  which  he  describes  to  the  traveling  man  as 
"stickers.'*  They  are  such  because  of  the  fault  of  the 
jeweler.  They  are  not  staples  to  the  same  degree  that 
watches,  chains,  rings,  cuff  buttons,  scarf  pins,  and  so  on, 
are.  Perhaps  they  more  properly  belong  to  the  novelty 
department.  They  are  articles  which  are  perhaps  seldom 
called  for,  but  for  which  a  ready  sale  can  be  found  if 
they  are  suggested  to  a  customer. 

So  many  people  are  possessed  of  very  nearly  everything 
in  the  jeweler's  regular  line  that  a  clerk  suggesting  arti- 
cles without  a  complete  list  is  "floored"  completely  after 
suggesting  a  half-dozen  articles  by  the  remark,  "She  has 
cme."  With  a  list,  he  is  not  through  until  he  has  gone 
through  fifty  or  more  articles  and  shown  something. 
With  sndi  a  fist  at  hand,  a  customer  is  given  tiie  opinion 
that  your  store  carries  about  everytiiing  to  be  found  in  a 
jewelry  store,  and  that  if  it  can  be  found  anywhere  you 
have  it.  People  with  nothing  particular  in  mind  will  find 
suggested  there  an  artide  which  win  do  for  what  they 
want.  Many  presents  are  given  with  the  idea  of  giving 
something  and  nothing  else.  The  recipient  may  Have  no 
particular  need  of  the  article,  bat  that  matters  not  to  the 
giver.  The  ability  to  suggest  novelties  of  different  kinds 
will  be  found  to  be  worth  money  during  the  lioliday  rush. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


when  if  "time  is  money"  at  any  particular  season,  it  is 
then.  Endeavor  to  handle  your  customers,  not  hurriedly, 
but  expeditiously.  Treat  each  one  as  though  you  were 
willing  to  spend  an  indefinite  time  with  them,  but  have  all 
possible  ways  and  means  devised  to  handle  tiiem  in  the 
least  possible  time.  Each  jeweler  knows  his  own  busi- 
ness best,  and  can  devise  many  ways  and  means  to  feudli- 
tate  the  handling  of  trade. 

Every  one  likes  to  see  a  jewder  or  other  business  man 
in  love  with  his  work  and  enthusiastic  over  his  business. 
Naturally,  such  men,  who  are  optimistic  in  their  views, 
and,  while  expecting  to  see  good  business,  yet  are  willkig 
to  work  for  it,  see  greater  results  than  the  man  of  pes- 
simistic views,  who,  looking  on  the  datk  side  of  things 
generally,  is  satisfied  to  sit  down,  and,  while  assuring 
his  friends  that  business  is  no  good,  does  nothing  by 
working  or  talking  to  change  the  conditions  of  tilings. 

Business  can  never  be  measured  by  a  day,  week  or 
month.  Local  conditions  may  change  general  prosperity 
mto  general  depression,  and  vice  versa.  No  matter  what 
the  conditions  of  your  city,  as  to  how  things  aie  running, 
whether  full  time  or  not,  the  Christmas  presents  must 
be  bought.  So,  as  Christmas  comes  but  once  a  year, 
we  should  have  our  store  reflect  the  true  Christmas 
spirit,  and  on  the  day  before  Christmas  wish  each  cus- 
tomer a  hearty  "Merry  Christmas"  and  have  them  leave 
in  a  happy  mood— happy  that  their  Christmas  presents 
are  bought,  and  happy  that  they  came  from  Blank's  store. 

Do  not  try  to  slight  your  relatives  and  friends  at 
Christmas  time.  You  cannot  afford  to  let  the  gift-giving 
spirit  die  out.  Keep  it  up,  as  you  are  the  gainer  thereby. 
Although  many  things  would  be  bought  by  people  them- 
selves, were  the  custom  of  Christmas  gift-giving  obsolete 
expensive  articles  would  be  practically  dead  stock  People 
mvanably  buy  better  things  to  give  away  than  for  their 
own  use. 


152 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


CHAPTER  XXmil. 

PREVENTING  THEFTS  AT  CHRISTMAS  TIME. 

Some  TrkkB  of  tiie  lii^t-Fiiittrad  Qontrj  Whkli  tlie  Retail 
Jewder  is  op  Against  and  How  Best  to  Prevent  Their 
Success— Various  If ettiods  to  Keep  Peof^  Honest 

THE  holiday  gift  buying  season  offers  the  greatest 
opportunities  for  people  of  dishonest  inclinations 
to  practice  their  cleverly  planned  tricks  on  the 
unsuspecting  cleiic,  who  is  busy  showing  goods  and  de- 
scrHnng  their  many  good  qualities,  and  the  reasonable- 
ness of  the  prices.  It  is  an  old  saying  tiiat  two  heads  are 
better  than  one,  and  when  two  or  more  dishonest  per- 
scMis,  with  a  definite  object  in  view,  enter  a  store  and 
eng^e  the  attention  of  a  clerk,  who  is  entirely  dis- 
armed of  suspicion  by  their  looks  and  manner,  it 
is  ten  chances  to  one  that  the  thief  or  thieves  will  be 
successful.  But  the  clerks,  who  may  be  at  the  time  dis- 
engaged, owe  a  duty  to  themselves,  their  employer,  and 
their  fellows,  to  watch,  and  notice  substitution  of  rings, 
and  other  small  tricks,  and  be  at  hand  to  get  goods  for 
which  there  may  be  a  call,  and  which  would  necessitate  a 
trip  to  another  part  of  the  store,  on  the  part  of  the  clerk 
who  is  waiting  oa  the  customers.  True,  most  tricks  are 
WQiked  when  all  are  engaged,  but  we  have  all  seen  a  half- 
dozen  clerks  talking  in  the  rear  of  a  store,  while  one  is 
handling  trade  in  the  front.  At  holiday  time  we  must 
keep  our  eyes  open  more  than  at  any  other  season  of  the 
year,  because  the  stock  changes  so  rapidly  that  it  is  com- 
paratively hard  to  keep  track  of  it,  and  to  remember  when 
noticing  that  a  particular  style  ring  or  brooch  is  missing, 
whether  it  has  been  sold  or  stolen. 

The  spaces  in  all  the  ring  trays,  watch  trays,  locket  and 
diann  trays,  should  always  be  filled,  either  with  articles. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


133 


or  if  after  a  heavy  sale  there  must  necessarily  be  empty 
spaces,  have  some  dummies  to  fill  in  all  the  spaces,  or  in- 
dicate where  the  vacancies  should  begin. 

Our  scarf  pins  can  be  arranged  so  that  they  will  keep 
in  order  better,  and  with  less  likelihood  of  theft,  by  hav- 
ing the  pin  part  of  each  scarf  pin  go  through  and  down 
the  back  of  the  card,  which  will  allow  for  a  strip  of  card- 
board being  run  through  the  whole  line,  making  them 
one  continuous  card. 

Another  method  often  practiced  is  for  a  caller  to  pick 
the  rings  out  of  the  trays  and  lay  them  down  one  at  a 
time  in  front  of  the  trays,  and,  after  about  a  dozen  or  so 
are  there,  say  that  there  is  nothing  to-day,  and  walk  out, 
and,  as  the  spaces  from  which  the  rings  were  taken,  are 
scattered  throughout  the  trays,  it  takes  the  clerk  perhaps 
two  CM*  three  minutes  to  place  them  back  where  they  be- 
long, and  then,  or  later,  he  will  find  that  one  of  the  rings, 
or  perhaps  two  were  not  put  back. 

Then  young  girls  have  practiced  this  trick  lately.  She 
will  lay  out  on  the  case,  as  in  the  preceding  paragraph, 
perhaps  fifteen  or  twenty  rings,  and  then  will  apparently 
select  one  for  later  purchase,  and  at  the  same  time  ask 
the  jeweler  if  he  will  lay  that  one  aside  for  her  if  she  pays 
him  a  quarter.  Naturally,  he  will  do  so,  and,  taking  the 
ring  which  she  selects  and  her  money,  will  make  a  note 
of  it  on  an  envelope,  together  with  her  name,  which  will 
be  fictitious.  Then  she  will  leave,  and  take  with  her  one 
or  more  rings.  This  trick,  may  seem  very  slow,  and  one 
at  which  you  would  not  be  caught,  but  it  has  been  suc- 
cessfully worked  recently  in  Utica.  The  possibilities 
of  working  this  trick  may  be  obviated  by  following  the 
plan  of  replacing  the  rings  in  their  respective  places  as 
the  customer  lays  them  down.  Once  in  a  while,  a  cus- 
tomer will  object  to  this,  but  such  objections  seldom  come 
from  persons  of  honest  intentions,  and  in  any  case  can 
generally  be  met  with  the  remark  that  they  will  scratch  the 
case,  or  may  be  brushed  onto  the  floor  with  their  sleeve 
or  something  like  that   Never  let  any  one  think  that 


134 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


you  suspect  them  of  dishonesty,  as  many  people  who  will 
steal,  if  given  the  opportunity,  will  buy  what  they  want 
if  they  cannot  get  it  otherwise. 

Many  people  also,  who  are  of  good  reputation,  will  if 
given  the  of^XMtunity,  take  something  without  paying  for 
it  It  is  because  of  this  fact  that  we  must  keep  our  eyes 
open.  A  brooch,  scarf  pin,  or  cuff  button  on  a  card,  may 
easily  be  held  in  the  same  hand  with  a  pocketbook,  but 
under  it,  and,  while  a  customer  may  indicate  with  the 
right  hand  the  particular  object  of  their  desires,  they 
may  have  firmly  grasped  in  their  kft  the  one  selected 
In  showing  watches  it  is  a  good  idea  to  show  the  same 
number  each  time,  say  a  dozen.  It  is  not  necessary  to 
lay  out  forty  or  fifty  watches  for  a  customer  to  sd^  one. 
If  the  first  dozen  contains  nothing  suitable,  replace  them 
in  the  case,  and  get  out  others.  The  same  should 
be  made  about  showing  rings.  Show  a  couple  of  ring 
trays,  and  put  them  away  if  nothing  (ksiraUe  is  found 
in  them.  When  four  or  five  are  in  a  party,  as  often  hap- 
pens, it  is  not  a  child's  job  to  keep  track  of  just  w1k>  has 
the  rings  which  do  not  return  to  the  trays.  Another 
thing  to  avoid  is  the  interfefence  of  people  standing  wait- 
ing for  a  job,  or  something  else,  who  reach  over  in  front 
of  the  ones  you  are  showing  goods,  and  pick  up  a  tray, 
and  place  it  four  or  five  feet  away  from  you,  and 
to  handle  the  goods.  An  immolate  call  for  another 
clerk  should  be  given,  or,  if  all  are  engaged,  the  clerk 
should  take  the  tray  back  and  inform  them  that  as  soon 
as  the  customers  who  are  now  looking  are  through,  you 
will  be  glad  to  show  them.  You  cannot  afford  to  let 
people  run  over  you,  particularly  when  it  may  mean  the 
loss  of  goods  whose  value  may  exceed  the  receipts  of  the 
day.  The  writer  has  said  nodiing  about  care  in  f^^Mrtg 
diamonds,  but  takes  it  for  granted  that  all  salesmen  ex- 
ercise their  utmost  watchfulness  when  showing  such 
goods.  Another  matter  to  avoid  as  much  as  possible  is 
leaving  valuable  goods  on  the  show  case,  while  you  turn 
around  to  get  something  in  a  wall  case  for  which  you  are 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


135 


asked.  It  is  a  simple  matter  to  ask  the  customer  whether 
or  not  they  wish  to  decide  on  anything  at  which  they  are 
looking,  and,  if  they  do  not  answer  positively  just  set 
them  in  the  show  case.  The  mere  fact  that  they  are  call- 
ing for  other  goods  justifies  you  in  presuming  that  they 
have  not  yet  reached  the  decisive  moment,  and  you  cannot 
afford  to  leave  goods  spread  out  on  the  show  case.  It 
can  always  be  explained  to  a  customer  that  you  have  to 
put  things  away,  because  so  many  are  coming  in  and  go- 
ing out  all  the  while.  In  making  remarks  of  this  kind, 
of  course  it  is  always  understood  that  ''present  company 
is  always  excepted,"  and  there  is  always  a  way  to  get 
around  these  things  without  being  offensive  or  giving  of- 
fense. 

One  particular  piece  of  advice  of  the  Jewelers'  Secur- 
ity Alliance  I  wish  to  emphasize.  That  is  not  to  place 
goods  in  the  show  window  in  trays.  Have  them  laid  in 
singly.  Then  if  a  thief  breaks  the  glass  or  reaches  m 
from  the  store  into  the  window  he  can  take  but  three  or 
four  articles  instead  of  taking  a  tray  full.  The  Alliance 
also  advises  its  members  to  read  the  trade  papers  and 
learn  by  the  experience  of  others. 


136  EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


METHODS  OF  CONDUCTING  BUSINESS. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 


THE  VALUE  OF  A  GOOD  NAME. 

WlMlli«r  it  k  ft  Good  or  Bftd  Rcpntatton  Depcndt  Upon  the 
Individtial  Himietf— Don't  be  Afraid  to  Lom  Sales  by 
TeUtng  the  Trutli— Have  Your  Name  Stand  for  So- 
liabilitar. 

WHAT'S  in  a  name?"  Letters,  of  course.  But 
there  is  something  besides,  which  is  more  im- 
portant and  of  greater  value.  We  are  all  de- 
sirous of  success,  and  are  earnestly  endeavoring  to  merit 
and  obtain  it  Omsequently  we  are  ever  on  the  alert, 
watching  for  opportunities  to  ptish  ahead  or  gain  some 
advantage  in  trade  which  has  not  perhaps  come  to  our 
ccMnpetitors.  There  is  an  old  story  of  a  man,  who,  in 
giving  his  son  instructions  before  he  entered  business, 
told  him  to  "Make  money.  Make  it  honestly  if  you 
can,  but  make  money.  While  a  great  many  measure 
success  by  the  number  of  dollars  one  accumulates  in 
a  certain  number  of  years,  I  do  not  take  that  view  of  it. 
As  long  as  we  live  money  will  be  a  necessity,  and  we 
must  necessarily  have  a  share  of  it,  but  I  think  that  we 
should  use  only  those  methods  to  secure  it  which  will 
permit  a  man  to  enjoy  his  earnings  without  any  dis- 
turbing voice  of  conscience  to  detract  therefrom. 

While  we  are  living  and  acting  our  several  parts  in 
the  drama  of  life  we  are  each  and  every  one  of  us  build- 
ing a  reputation,  either  for  good  or  evil,  for  honesty  or 
dishonesty,  for  truthfulness  or  prevarication,  for 
straightforwardness  or  trickery. 

It  is  as  easy  to  acquire  a  reputation  for  one  thing  as 
the  other,  and  a  bad  reputation  once  acquired  is  hard  to 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


137 


get  rid  of.   The  jeweler  who  believes  that  he  has  d<Mie 
a  good  stroke  of  business,  when  he  has  sold  a  twenty 
dollar  watch  to  a  man  for  $25,  and  who  said  he  wanted 
to  pay  $25,  may  have  a  reaction  when  the  customer  hap- 
pens to  compare  with  a  friend,  or  makes  inquiries  of 
other  stores.   There  are  cases  of  people,  who  having 
made  up  their  mind  as  to  the  kind  of  watch  they  wish  to 
purchase  have  also  established  a  price  whidi  Uiey  expect 
to  pay,  and  having  established  this  price,  it  is  hard  work 
to  sell  them  one,  either  kwer  or  higher  priced.   It  is 
better,  however,  to  spend  considerate  time  in  argument 
to  pomt  out  the  difference  in  watches  and  the  prices,  wid 
even  allow  him  to  depart  without  making  a  sale,  rather 
than  to  chaige  more  than  the  regular  price  to  him. 
Never  aUow  a  customer  to  "beat  you  down   on  the 
price.  Acquire  the  reputation  of  being  one-pnced,  and 
you  will  find  it  an  easy  matter  to  do  business  a  second 
time  with  a  customer.   Do  not  sell  goods  which  you  are 
not  perfectly  sure  will  give  satisfaction.   Do  not  offer 
cheap  plated  goods  as  the  best  gold  filled.   If  the  manu- 
facturer has  no  conscience,  don't  forget  that  you  have. 
Keep  your  conscience  in  good  working  order.  Always 
ynylf»  good  any  defects  in  the  guarantee  of  goods  or  of 
your  work.    Do  not  advertise  cut  prices  on  goods,  either 
m  your  windows  or  the  papers.    Better  have  the  reputa- 
tion of  being  high  priced,  than  of  being  ''cheap."  No 
one  will  speak  of  the  cheap  jeweler  in  a  way  that  will 
be  of  any  benefit  to  him.    If  he  is  mentioned  at  all,  it  is 
in  an  apologetic  way.    If  you  can  make  people  under- 
stand that  you   sell  good    goods,  and    that  ''quality 
counts,"  and  that  it  is  no  easy  matter  to  pick  qualities  in 
jewelry,  but  that  it  really  requires  expert  service  to  do 
it,  the  majority  of  people  are  willing  to  pay  a  little  bit 
more  for  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  their  jewelry 
purchases  are  just  what  they  appear  to  be. 

If  you  sell  an  article  in  gold  which  is  lok,  do  not  let 
the  customer  persuade  you  to  say  that  it  is  14k.  So 
many  stores  do  this,  that  it  is  hard  on  the  jeweler  who 
sells  things  for  what  they  arc.  Tell  them  that  it  is 
plump  lok,  and  that  it  is  guaranteed  to  give  satisfaction, 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


and  that  you  will  exchange  it  if  it  does  not.  If  you  can 
acquire  a  reputation  for  truth-telling  you  will  find  it 
your  most  valuable  asset  in  business.  Never  be  afraid 
to  lose  sales.  You  are  better  off  to  lose  a  sale  by  telling 
the  exact  truth  about  it  than  you  would  be  to  make  the 
sale  by  telling  an  untruth.  Business  is  not  measured  by 
the  receipts  for  any  one  day,  week,  or  month.  It  is  the 
continued  dealings  which  we  have  with  the  same  cus- 
tomers, year  after  year,  which  count  up.  Get  people 
to  believe  in  you,  so  that  they  will  come  to  you  to  buy 
ardcles  for  presents,  because  the  recipient  will  know  that 
it  is  first-dass  from  the  fact  that  it  came  from  your  es- 
tablishment 

In  your  advertising  in  the  papers,  and  m  your  talks 
over  the  counter,  impress  upon  people  die  fact  that  "all 
is  not  gdd  that  gUtters/'  and  that  as  long  as  there  are 
genuine  articles  of  merit  made,  jtist  so  long  there  will 
be  imitations  of  those  articles  made  and  sold,  and  liat 
if  they  wish  to  feel  easy  regarding  their  jewelry  pur- 
chases, let  them  come  from  your  store. 

The  average  customer  will  allow  that  he  knows  noth- 
ing about  the  jewelry  business  or  the  comparative  val- 
ues of  goods.  To  tiiese,  the  jeweler,  if  he  is  strictly 
honorable,  becomes  a  friend  in  need,  and  one  whom  they 
learn  to  depend  on  for  advice.  If  they  realize  that  he 
will  not  sell  them  a  poor  article,  he  will  find  that  his 
sales  to  them,  and  their  friends,  will  materially  increase. 

Have  your  name  on  an  article,  or  on  a  jewelry  case, 
stand  for  reliability,  and  remember  always,  that  "a  good 
name  is  rather  to  be  chosen  than  great  riches." 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


CHAPTER  XXXJV. 

CO-OPERATION  AND  SYSTBM. 

Suggestions  That  Will  Prove  of  Advantage  to  the  Jeweler, 
Great  or  Small — Every  One  in  the  Store  Should  Have 
Some  Responsibility,  and  the  Proprietor  Most  of  AIL 

IN  all  great  businesses,  there  are  men  always  trying 
to  simplify  the  work,  so  that  fewer  men  will  be 
needed  to  conduct  the  business,  with  a  minimum, 
of  detail  and  least  ix)ssible  energy  expended. 

If  it  pays  these  large  mercantile  concerns,  into  whose 
coffers  the  dollars  seem  to  pour,  to  figure  things  down 
to  the  cent,  does  it  not  behoove  the  small  merchant  to 
exercise  his  ingenuity  to  also  save  extra  expense  in  his 
business.  The  percentage  saved  will  be  approximatly 
the  same,  although  the  amounts  will  differ  greatly  in 
the  coin  of  the  realm. 

How  are  these  great  businesses  conducted  ?  Does  the 
head  of  the  concern  direct  each  movement,  handle  the 
advertising,  do  the  buying,  mark  prices  on  the  goods, 
handle  the  correspondence,  keep  the  books,  etc.?  Of 
course  he  does  not.  Hie  has  trained  his  assistants,  upon 
whose  judgment  he  must  rely  to  know  what  to  do  in 
emergencies,  what  moves  to  make,  and  when  to  make 
them  to  acquire  advantage  for  him. 

The  keynote  of  all  business  success  is  co-operaticm. 
No  one  man  can  handle  the  many  details  of  a  tmsiness. 
If  he  tries  it  he  will  be  continually  forgetting  important 
matters  which  should  be  attended  to,  while  bothering  his 
head  with  some  minor  detail  of  the  work  which  could  be 
attended  to  by  a  boy  or  other  office  employe.  If  co- 
operation is  advantageous  and  necessary  for  concerns  in 
every  line  of  business,  it  is  surely  necessary  and  beneficial 
to  the  retail  jeweler. 

Naturally,  the  jeweler  whose  entire  staff  begins  and 
ends  with  himself  cannot  sub-divide  the  work  in  his  es- 


I40  EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


tablishment.  He  has  to  be  the  whole  thing,  and  neces- 
sarily he  has  to  work  longer  and  harder  to  carry  on  his 
business  than  the  storekeeper  who  has  a  business  ten 
times  as  large,  but  who  has  trained  assistants. 

The  jeweler  who  conducts  a  small  business  has  to  wait 
on  the  caller  or  customers  as  they  come  in,  filling  in  the 
intervening  time  with  attacks  on  the  hundred  and  one 
jobs  of  the  various  kinds  which  are  brought  into  a  retail 
jewelry  store.  After  his  store  is  closed  for  the  night,  he 
has  to  work  on  watches,  write  his  orders,  make  out 
checks,  mark  his  incoming  goods,  do  up  packages  for 
maiUng,  and  so  on. 

Let  us  take  a  look  at  the  store  whose  work  is,  large 
enough  to  warrant  the  owner  in  having  a  force  of  five 
or  six  at  the  least  If  the  work  is  sub-divided  and  sys- 
tematized as  it  can  and  should  be,  we  will  find  things  ruiv- 
ning  along  smoothly. 

One  man,  who  is  thoroughly  experienced  in  watch 
work,  should  have  charge  of  the  watch  repairing  depart- 
ment. As  far  as  possible  he  ^ould  take  in  the  woiic, 
and  also  parcel  it  out  to  whoever  else  in  the  store  does 
watch  work.  Another  one  should  have  charge  of  the  jew- 
elry work  and  should  in  the  same  way  take  in  the  work  of 
that  department  and  make  quotations,  and  he  should 
also  have  charge  of  the  jewelry  material,  jobbing  stones, 
etc.  By  giving  these  repair  departments  into  the  hands 
of  separate  individuals,  each  will  feel  the  responsibility 
of  his  position,  and  will  try  and  make  his  department  one 
which  will  be  a  paying  one  for  the  proprietor,  and  one  in 
which  there  will  be  no  complaints. 

By  each  man  having  charge  of  the  material  for  his  de- 
partment, he  will  keep  track  of  what  materials  are  needed. 
This  will  save  time  in  ordering.  If  an  optical  depart- 
ment is  conducted,  still  another  exerienced  man  should 
be  in  charge  of  it.  Another  man  should  have  charge  of 
the  stock,  and  besides  keeping  it  in  shape,  should  keep  a 
list  of  needed  articles,  and  be  able,  if  necessary,  to  assist 
the  proprietor  in  the  buying  of  stock.  The  stockkeeper 
in  all  but  the  larger  establishments  can  handle  the  cor- 
respondence.  By  having  the  labor  separated  in  this  way. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS.  141 


better  results  can  be  had,  because  each  man  has  only  to 
think  of  what  immediately  concerns  his  own  department. 
The  watchmaker  does  not  have  to  put  in  pin-tongues  or 
solder  a  pair  of  spectacles  while  he  is  in  the  middle  of 
pivoting  a  staff.  The  jeweler  does  not  have  to*  worry 
about  how  the  watch  work  is  going.  Each  has  his  own 
work  to  do,  and  as  each  job  is  similar  he  can  work  faster 
and  accomplish  more  in  a  day.  He  will  also  do  better 
work. 

What  is  the  proprietor  doing  all  the  while  the  rest  are 
working  so  hard?  In  answer,  I  venture  to  say  that  he 
is  the  busiest  man  of  the  lot.  He  is  considering  how  to 
make  the  business  better.  He  is  looking  over  countless 
stocks  of  goods  and  deciding  what  to  buy  and  what  not. 

He  has  also  to  wait  on  a  large  percentage  of  the  cus- 
tomers, who  thmk  they  can  do  better  to  do  business  witii 
him.  He  has  to  take  a  few  of  the  complaints  of  dissatb- 
fied  customers  and  adjust  their  differences.  He  plays  a 
varied  role,  and  needs  aH  his  strength  to  keep  it  up. 

Where  the  store  can  afford  it,  one  man  can  be  profit- 
ably employed  taking  care  of  the  advertising  and  decorat- 
ing the  windows. 

Where  the  work  is  sub-divided,  one  man  may  be  doing 
work  which  another  could  do  better,  or  one  man  may 
think  he  could  do  the  work  better  than  the  one  who  has 
that  particular  job  to  do;  but  each  should  be  content  and 
do  his  work  in  the  best  possible  manner  and  in  due  time 
each  will  find  his  level  be  it  higher  or  lower. 


143  EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


CHAPTER  XXXJVI. 


PRACTICAL  ADVICE  FOR  SALESMEN. 

The  FoUowing  k  Mr.  Brant's  Fonnula  lor  Socccm:  Hon- 
esty, Tnitlifiilness,  PromptncMi  Temperance,  Entfausi- 
aam,  Neatneaa,  Chcerfnlaeaa,  Baergy,  Fidelitjr  to  Ideala. 

WE  all  enjoy  reading  the  biographies  of  the  suc- 
cessful men  of  all  ages,  and  our  ambitions  are 
often  aroused  to  go  and  do  likewise.  Often, 
how«ver,  we  settle  down  to  the  conviction  that  it  is  too 
bte  in  the  day  for  us  to  strike  out  and  accomplish  any- 
thing greater  than  we  are  doing  at  the  present  time. 
Hiis  is  in  no  sense  true  even  of  the  humblest  of  us.  We 
should  aim  high,  and  by  so  doing  we  will  certainly  land 
in  a  higher  spot  than  we  would  if  we  did  not  so  aim. 

There  are  a  number  of  essential  principles  which  we 
must  follow  to  obtain  success,  whether  as  employer  or 
employe.  First  of  all,  honesty.  There  is  room  at  the 
top  for  the  men  who  are  as  true  to  their  employer's  in- 
terests as  they  are  to  their  own,  and  who  would  not  stoop 
to  take  advantage  of  his  absence  for  their  own  pecuniary 
gain. 

Second,  truthfulness.  "Be  the  matter  what  it  may, 
always  speak  the  truth."  Be  one  of  those  men  of  whom 
it  can  be  said,  "If  he  said  so,  it  is  so."  It  is  an  easy 
matter  to  acquire  a  habit,  which,  once  formed,  we 
can  hardly  shake  off.  Why  not  form  the  habit  of  telling 
the  truth,  instead  of  joining  the  ranks  of  those  who 
from  force  of  habit,  lie,  even  when  the  truth  would  better 
serve  their  purpose. 

Third,  promptness.  There  is  nothing  more  aggra- 
vating to  an  ^ployer  than  to  have  workmen  late  to  their 
work.  In  factories  where  there  arc  large  numbers  at 
work,  strict  regulations  are  necessary  to  compd  the 
prompt  attendance  of  the  hands.  In  small  enterprises 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


where  but  half  a  dozen  are  employed,  and  where  the 
employer  is  personally  acquainted  with  each  of  his  men, 
it  is  a  harder  matter  to  handle.  It  is  a  good  idea  to  be 
a  few  minutes  ahead  of  time  than  late  even  occasionally. 
Do  not^  pattern  after  any  one  in  regard  to  the  time  you 
report  in  the  morning  or  the  length  of  time  you  take  for 
dinner.  Do  not  let  any  one  influence  you  to  take  advan-. 
tage  of  an  easy  boss.  Knowing  the  rules  of  the  store 
regarding  the  time  of  opening  and  the  hours  for  meals 
and  the  closing  time,  conform  strictly  to  those  rules. 
The  man  who  does,  is  the  one  upon  whom  the  proprietor 
unconsciously  begins  to  lean  for  support  in  the  conduct 
of  the  business,  and  he  is  the  one,  odier  things  being 
equal,  who  is  given  a  share  in  the  business. 

Fourth,  be  temperate  in  all  things.  The  man  who  is 
intemperate  either  in  his  use  of  alcoholic  liquors,  smok- 
ing or  chewing  tobacco,  or  in  keeping  late  hours,  can  not 
give  as  satisfactory  service  as  the  man  who  abstains  from 
these  practices.  He  should  keep  regular  hours,  not  reg- 
ularly late,  but  regularly  early,  and  get  the  necessary 
amount  of  sleep,  without  having  to  stay  in  bed  so  late  in 
the  morning  that  he  is  late  to  the  store,  has  a  headache, 
feels  sleepy,  and  is  generally  no  good  around  the  store. 
On  the  other  hand  the  man  with  good  habits  gets  the 
necessary  sleep,  and  is  up  early  enough  in  the  morning 
to  get  to  work  without  unnecessary  hurry,  and  feels  like 
work  when  he  gets  to  the  store. 

Fifth,  enthusiasm.  We  should  be  enthusiastic  in  our 
work.  If  we  do  not  enjoy  the  work  we  are  doing,  let's 
get  into  something  more  to  our  notion,  as  a  misfit  is  use- 
less in  any  business.  We  should  be  thoroughly  in  love 
with  our  work,  and  awake  to  the  possibilities  of  our  busi- 
ness. The  enthusiastic  man  carries  others  along  with 
him,  and  by  his  very  presence  and  spirit  helps  to  make 
the  business  wear  a  successful  air.  To  appear  to  be  suc- 
ceeding is  a  long  step  towards  success. 

Neatness.  We  should  keep  ourselves  scrupulously 
neat  and  clean.  Our  clothing  ^uld  always  be  in  good 
condition,  our  linen  spotless,  and  our  neckwear  should 
not  be  frayed  or  worn.  Nothing  can  give  a  business  a 


144  EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


run-down  appearance  quicker  than  to  have  the  proprietor 
and  clerks  carelessly  dressed,  minus  cuffs,  and  with  two 
or  three  days'  growth  of  beard  on  their  faces.  It  is  not 
necessary  for  a  man  to  be  foppish,  but  we  can  all  on  our 
salaries,  if  careful,  look  and  be  well  dressed.  If  we  are 
not  getting  paid  enough  to  dress  well,  we  should  change 
our  job.  'Tis  said  that  ''clothes  do  not  make  the  man/ 
but  it  is  also  said,  that  "man  looketh  on  the  outward  ap- 
pearance, and  surely  the  clothes  help  to  make  the  first  im- 
pression, which,  with  a  great  many  people,  is  the  last- 
ing one. 

Cheerfulness.  We  may  have  to  wait  on  customers 
who  are  not  just  our  style  or  to  our  likme,  imt  what  dif- 
ference does  it  make  to  us?  We  should  wait  on  eadi 
customer  cheerfully,  and  not  act  as  though  we  were  con- 
descending quite  a  little  when  we  wait  on  them.  By  be- 
ing agreeable  with  the  trade,  we  will  unconsciously  be 
bmldii^  up  a  dicntle  of  our  own,  which  will  be  worth 
money  to  us  should  we  ever  wish  to  change  our  position 
or  engage  in  business  for  ourselves.  We  should  remem- 
ber that  we  are  building  every  day,  and  that  the  better 
we  serve  an  honest  employer  the  better  we  serve  our 
own  interests. 

Be  energetic.  Look  for  work.  If  there  is  nothing 
especial  to  do,  clean  up.  The  stock,  fixtures,  etc.,  all 
need  attention  almost  any  time,  and  we  are  doing  our- 
selves a  favor  when  we  keep  busy,  and"  do  not  acquire 
the  habit  of  standing  around  with  no  apparent  aim  in  life. 

Finally,  "To  thine  own  self  be  true,  and  it  must  fol- 
low, as  the  night  the  day,  thou  canst  not  tBen  be  false  to 
any  man." 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS.  145 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 


THROUGH  LABOR  COMES  RE  WARD. 

p 

Young  Business  Men  Should  Not  Expect  Success  Until 
They  Earn  it — Design  and  Quality  of  Goods  Rather 
Than  Price,  Should  be  Relied  on  to  Build  Up  a  Perma- 
nent Trade. 

WE  Americans  glory  in  our  great  men,  and  we 
have  a  right  to  feel  proud  of  them,  but  when 
we  come  to  analyze  their  abilities,  we  find  that 

th^  were  just  as  ordinary  as  the  humblest  of  us,  and 
possessed  no  special  qualifications,  except  an  indomi- 
table purpose  to  accomplish  something  in  the  world. 

What  man  has  done  man  can  do  again,  and  we  are  con- 
tinually seeing  illustrations  of  this  in  political,  business 

and  social  circles. 

A  man  who  occupies  a  prominent  place  in  the  affairs 
of  the  government  dies,  and  every  one  f-eels  that  his  place 
cannot  well  be  filled.  Another  man,  less  widely  known, 
succeeds  to  the  position,  and  things  move  along  just  as 
smoothly  as  before,  and  the  first  man  is  almost  iorgotten, 
except  by  his  most  intimate  friends. 

The  trouble  with  the  biographies  of  most  great  men, 
is  that  their  humble  origin  is  generally  passed  over,  and 
greater  space  is  given  to  their  later  achievements.  There 
is  certainly  no  better  pastime  than  to  read  the  lives  of 
successful  men,  and  try  and  derive  encouragement  and 
advice  therefrom.  When  we  read  of  the  years  which  a 
professional  man  waits  for  recognition,  we  begin  to  won- 
der how  a  man  can  expect  to  open  up  in  business,  and  in 
the  face  of  competition  immediately  begin  to  coin  money. 
While  the  business  man  has  no  such  wait  as  the  profes- 
sional man  before  he  gains  a  competency  to  live  on,  it 
requires  years  of  patient,  untiring  work  to  acquire  real 
business  success. 


146 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


With  what  seems  a  suffident  number  of  jewelry  stores 
to  supply  the  public  need  of  such  luxuries,  and  keep  thdr 
watches  and  jewelry  in  repair,  what  reason  can  a  new 
beginner  offer,  besides  his  own  personality,  to  deserve 
patronage  which  has  heretofore  been  distributed  among 
the  other  dealers.  There  must  be  some  good  reason  to 
offer,  or  they  will  not  change,  at  least  otherwise  than 
temporarily.  But  we  are  lookmg  for  permanent  cus- 
jtomers,  and  these  are  what  will  assist  one  to  achieve 
success. 

To  draw  trade  we  must  be  able  to  do  something,  just 
a  little  better  than  others,  offer  a  greater  variety  to 
choose  from,  or  offer  some  inducement,  such  as  cut  prices, 
souvenirs,  or  free  delivery  of  purchases.  The  cut  prices 
and  souvenir  section  of  this  paragraph  might  well  be 
omitted,  as  trade  which  is  desirable  is  not  influenced  by 
any  catch-penny  schemes.  Such  methods  are  all  right 
for  the  traveling  auction  store,  who  is  here  to-day  and 
elsewhere  to-morrow. 

In  buying  goods,  pay,  if  necessary,  a  trifle  more  and 
get  designs  which  are  exclusive  and  different  from  the 
regular  line  of  goods.  In  the  line  of  brooches,  there  is 
such  a  variety  of  styles  possible  that  we  could  not  attempt 
to  carry  even  a  tenth  of  those  shown,  but  we  can  select  a 
few  here  and  a  few  there,  and  so  on.  People  like  to 
trade  where  they  can  see  a  variety  and  the  dollar  or  two 
extra  which  they  have  to  pay  is  forgotten  in  their  pleasure 
at  having  secured  something  so  unique  and  original  in 
design.  It  is  a  question  in  my  mind  whether  any  great 
amount  of  trade  can  be  influenced  by  cut  prices.  Sup- 
pose that  you  have  a  watch  which  you  sell  regularly  for 
$35  and  you  desire  to  cut  the  price.  Would  a  purchaser 
be  more  easily  found  if  you  offered  that  watch  for 
$31.99?  If  people  want  jewelry  they  want  good  qual- 
ity goods,  at  least  when  they  hie  themselves  to  the  jew- 
elers. An  article  rightly  maide,  and  of  good  quality,  and 
priced  rightly,  will  readily  sell.  A  good  many  writers 
maintain  that  a  jewelry  business  cannot  be  run  on  the 
one-price  idea,  but  this  is  a  fallacy.  There  is  is  no  use  of 
allowii^  an  outsider  to  make  your  prices  for  yon.  Once 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS.  147 


started,  you  will  have  to  maintain  it.  If  your  goods  are 
not  marked  at  a  fair  price,  re-mark  them.  If  your  con- 
science troubles  you  about  charging  the  price,  figure  out 
your  profit,  and  if  it  is  too  much  cut  the  price.  Always 
remember,  though,  that  the  difference  in  price  between 
the  cost  and  selling  is  not  your  profit.  Your  store  ex- 
penses, such  as  rent,  heating,  lighting,  advertising,  boxes, 
paper,  string,  and  so  on,  have  to  be  figured  on  and  allow- 
ance made  for  them  before  you  can  count  your  profit. 

If  people  really  insist  upon  buying  cheap  goods,  let 
them  go  elsewhere  for  them.  Impress  upon  them  the 
fact  that  you  cannot  afford  to  sell  goods  which  you  are 
not  absolutely  sure  will  give  the  customer  full  value  for 
his  money.  It  is  worth  your  while  to  argue,  if  necessary, 
to  convmce  your  customer  that  it  is  to  your  interest  as 
well  as  his  to  sell  him  reliable  goods,  as  you  cannot  take 
chances  on  losing  his  trade  by  letting  him  buy  an  article 
of  which  you  have  your  doubts. 

On  repair  work  as  well  as  cm  stock,  whatever  you  un- 
dertake to  do  always  do  your  best,  remembering  that 
"what's  worth  doing  is  worth  doing  well,"  and  that  if  you 
do  good  work  you  can  charge  a  fair  price  for  it.  .The 
successful  jeweler  has  founded  his  success  upon  a  more 
solid  basis  than  price.  He  has  builded  his  structure 
upon  quality.  The  reputation  for  selling  right  goods  at 
right  prices  makes  positive  that  under  ordinary  condi- 
tions the  business  will  steadily  and  surely  increase. 

The  cut-price  jeweler  must  continue  to  offer  ''bargains** 
in  order  to  do  business.  A  store  which  has  the  reputation 
of  holding  "sales"  will  not  be  able  to  do  a  regular  busi- 
ness. Trade  will  be  at  a  standstill  upon  all  days  except 
"bargain  days."  Not  so  with  the  "quality  store."  The 
fact  that  makes  your  name  valuable  on  a  jewelry  case  is 
the  reputation  of  selling  reliable  goods. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


CJEIAPTER  XXXVIII. 

HOW  TO  HOLD  OUR  CUSTOliBRS. 

What  Policy  Should  Retailers  Pursue  to  Make  Permanent 
Customers  Out  of  Those  Who  Make  Their  First  Pur- 
chase—To be  Concise  and  Pithy  the  Answer  is,  "Give 
Satisfaction." 

WE  arc  all  of  us  interested  in  increasing  our  busi- 
ness, and  those  of  ns  who  are  alive  are  con- 
stantly on  the  alert  for  new  and  improved 
methods  for  acquirmg  new  customers.  Plan  after  plan 
may  be  tried  which  will  be  successful  in  bringing  to  our 
store  dozens  of  new  faces,  who  may  make  what  you  may 
call  trial  purchases.  Or  they  may  merely  look  around 
our  store  and  examine  the  different  articles  we  have  for 
sale,  mentally  debating,  the  while,  whether  it  will  be  to 
their  advantage  to  trade  with  us  rather  than  at  their 
former  jewelers.  If  people  come  to  our  store  even  to 
look,  it  shows  that  they  are  open  to  conviction,  and  that 
they  have  a  favorable  opmion  of  our  store,  or  they  would 
not  be  there.  To  visitors  of  ^is  kind,  we  should  be 
particularly  courteous,  and  strive  to  the  best  of  our  abil- 
ity to  send  tfiem  away  satisfied ;  satisfied  with  their  pur- 
chase, if  they  made  one;  satisfied  with  their  treatment, 
if  they  made  no  purchase. 

We  are  always  obtaining  new  customers,  and  the  ques- 
tion most  important  is  how  to  hold  their  trade  on  subse- 
quent purchases.  There  are  some  people  whose  trade 
no  one  can  hold.  They  drop  in  where  it  is  convenient, 
and  are  just  as  apt  to  buy  from  Smith  as  from  Jones. 
There  are  others  who  are  never  satisfied,  and  whom  the 
jeweler  is  unable  to  suit.  Either  the  price  is  not  right, 
or  there  is  some  defect  in  their  purchase.  They  go  from 
cme  store  to  another,  and  finally  land  in  the  same  store 
again.  It  is  useless  to  wony  over  them,  as  there  are 


EVANS'S  ESS  A  YS. 


149 


just  enough  of  such  people  to  enable  us  to  appreciate  the 
fact  that  most  of  the  people  we  meet  and  have  dealings 
with  are  pretty  fair  sort  of  people,  after  alL  So  these 
disagreeable  people  serve  a  useful  and  unique  purpose  in 
life,  and  demonstrate  that  even  the  humblest  of  us  can 
be  of  service  to  our  fellow  man. 

It  is  not  necessarily  the  store  having  the  most  cus- 
tomers which  does  the  largest  and  most  profitable  busi- 
ness. In  the  same  manner  of  reasonhig,  and  in  demon- 
stration of  the  foregoing,  it  is  not  the  man  with  the  larg- 
est earning  capacity  who  has  the  greatest  amount  of 
ready  money.  It  is  not  what  a  man  earns,  but  what  he 
saves  out  of  his  earnings,  which  counts.  So,  too,  it  is 
not  the  number  of  customers  which  a  store  has,  but  the 
amount  of  business  done  in  the  aggregate,  which  counts. 
If  we  have  a  selected  list  of  customers,  and  can  hold 
their  trade  on  fine  goods,  as  well  as  on  smaller  purchases, 
we  will  do  as  well  as  we  would  with  a  larger  clientele 
who  made  smaller  purchases.  The  store  with  a  large  list 
of  customers  has  a  decided  advantage  in  some  things, 
however.  Occasionally,  some  disgruntled  individual  will 
inform  you  that  he  is  through  with  you,  and  that  you 
need  not  expect  his  support  in  the  future.  If  he  is  one 
of  ten  thousand,  you  can  spare  him  very  easily,  whereas 
if  he  is  one  of  a  hundred,  you  will  miss  him.  In  a  large 
business,  a  greater  number  of  small  sales  will  result, 
which  will  net  a  larger  percentage  of  profit  than  the 
same  amount  received  in  a  few  large  transactions. 

But  in  either  case,  we  must  give  satisfaction  in  order 
to  hold  our  trade.  We  must  impress  upon  our  custom- 
ers that  we  are  careful  what  we  sell  them ;  that  we  would 
not  knowingly  sell  them,  or  let  them  buy  an  article  the 
merits  of  which  we  were  not  entirely  cogfnizant  with. 
We  must  impress  all  comers,  if  possible,  that  our  store  is 
a  safe  one  from  which  to  have  all  their  jewelry  purchases 
come.  ^  While  plainly  displaying  your  desire  to  sell,  as 
plainly  show  your  independence  of  making  any  one  sale. 
Make  them  understand  that  you  have  a  decided  person- 
ality, and  that  you  mean  to  have  your  store  and  your 


ISO  EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


stock  reflect  that  personality.  Insist  upon  their  return-  . 
ing  to  you  any  goods  which  they  may  buy,  which  do  not 
prove  as  represented.  Assure  them  that  you  are  willing 
at  any  time  to  listen  to  complaints,  and  to  rectify  any 
mistakes  on  your  part,  and  that  you  intend  to  satisfy 
them,  if  you  can  possibly  do  so.  It  is  not  necessary  for 
you  to  forfeit  one  grain  of  your  self-respect.  There  is 
a  time  for  everything,  and  there  is  a  time  to  stand  up  for 
your  rights,  but  in  a  case  where  a  customer  is  complain- 
ing over  some  trivial  affair,  make  it  right,  where  the  ex- 
pense is  small,  even  though  it  does  not  seem  to  you  that 
you  should  be  called  upon  to  do  so.  Then,  too,  the 
guarantees  on  plated  chains,  bracelets,  and  so  on,  given 
by  manufacturers,  and  under  which  the  retailer  sells  the 
goods,  should  be  lived  up  to.  Why  spend  the  time  try- 
ing to  convince  a  man  that  he  has  had  his  money  out  of 
an  article,  i^^Lhe  has  brought  in  to  be  made  right, 
when  the  nHHKturer  is  perfectly  willing  to  make  it 
good?  We  not  only  injure  ourselves,  but  the  manufac- 
turer also,  when  we  refuse  to  make  good  his  guarantees, 
which  only  requires  on  our  part  the  sendkig  of  it  back  to 
the  factory  together  with  an  explanatory  letter. 

So,  let  us  pursue  the  course  which  is  sure  to  bring  us 
satisfactory  results,  and  the  rule  to  follow  is  the  Golden 
Rule,  "Do  unto  others,  as  you  would  that  they  should  do 
unto  you,"  not  as  David  Harum  put  it,  "Do  unto  others 
what  they  would  like  to  do  to  you,  and  do  it  fust."  Most 
people  know  when  they  are  used  right,  and  do  not  forget 
the  store  where  their  trade  was  appreciated  to  such  a  de- 
gree that  they 'would  rather  that  they  would  go  away 
without  purchasing,  than  to  sell  them  an  artide  which 
was  defective.  In  die  conduct  of  a  store  there  is  use  lot 
diplomacy,  or  tact,  or  whatever  name  you  wish  to  put  on 
that  system,  which  tells  one  how  to  handle  the  different 
kinds  of  customers,  and  which  teadies  us  when  to  talk, 
and  when  to  listen,  what  subjects  should  never  be  dis* 
cussed  with  customers,  and  also,  that  we  are  here  to  sell 
goods,  not  to  mould  public  opinion,  or  diange  it 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS,  151 


CHAPTER  XXXUX. 


REPUTATION  AND  CREDIT. 

"A  Good  Name  is  Rather  to  be  Chosen  Than  Great  RIdies* 
—How  a  Reputation  for  Square  Dealing  Will  Help  the 
Dealer  to  Get  Goods  Promptiy— Some  Points  M  to  tiie 
Management  of  Your  Finances. 

THE  subject  whidi  will  be  discussed  in  this  chapter 
is  the  value  of  a  good  name  among  the  men  from 
whom  it  is  necessary  for  the  retail  jeweler  to  pro- 
cure his  stock.  Those  of  us  who  have  the  reputation 
of  being  honest,  truthful  and  straightforward,  seldom 
realize  what  we  have  to  be  thankful  for.  Truly,  such  a 
reputation  is  not  the  result  of  luck,  but  of  faithful  toil, 
and  earnest  attention  to  business  in  all  that  the  word  unr 
plies.  But  there  are  many  little  togs  which  nuUtate 
against  a  man,  and  will  often  give  an  honest  man  the 
appearance  of  being  an  undesirable  customer.  What  is 
credit?  It  gives  you  the  right  to  order  and  receive 
goods,  and  sell  them  again,  without  ever  havmg  paid  a 
cent  on  them,  merely  on  the  supposition  that  you  wUl 
pay  for  them,  according  to  the  terms  written  upon  the 
bill,  or  special  agreement  made. 

Let  us  consider  two  cases  illustrating  the  two  classes 
of  men.  Jones,  a  man  of  known  honesty  of  purpose, 
orders  to-night  two  dozen  watches,  and  because  of  its 
being  Jones,  and  of  his  havmg  remitted  promptiy  before, 
the  goods  are  shipped  immediately,  and  he  has  them  as 
quickly  as  the  express  can  bring  them.  Smith  orders  at 
the  same  tune  a  selection  of  such  goods,  and  because  he 
took  so  long  paying  for  goods  on  a  previous  occasion, 
he  is  either  turned  down  entirely,  he  receives  a  poor 
selection,  or  there  is  a  day  or  two  delay  while  he  is  being 
investigated.  All  this  time  he  is  perhaps  waiting  to  re- 
ceive the  goods,  in  Order  to  show  them  to  his  customer, 
and  because  he  is  so  slow  in  getting  them  loses  the  sale. 


152  EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


Another  kind  of  credit  mlgfit  be  pfiven  a  word  or  two 
here,  that  is  "memorandum  credit."  Most  houses  freelv 
offer  to  send  to  reliable  dealers  selection  packajres  of 
goods  for  which  they  have  a  call,  and  which  they  have 
not  in  stock,  but  their  object  is  not  onlv  to  accommodate 
a  customer,  but  to  help  him  effect  a  snle,  so  that  both  mav 
receive  profit  thereby.  But  suppose  a  jeweler  uses  the 
wholesaler  more  than  he  has  any  ri^ht  to  do,  and  sup- 
pose that  he  seldom  makes  a  sale  from  these  selections, 
and  that  he  returns  the  polished  js^oods  soiled,  tas^s  and 
cards  dirty,  and  with  insufficient  packin^^:?  Can  the 
wholesaler  be  expected  to  put  himself  to  the  trouble  of 
sending  another  selection  when  it  is  asked  for?  The 
writer  has  been  told  that  it  is  because  of  this  carelessness 
and  thoughtlessness  upon  the  part  of  the  retailer,  that  so 
many  of  the  largest  houses  have  cut  this  service  out  al- 
most entirely,  making  an  occasional  exception  to  some 
good  customer,  but  never  advertising  the  fact  that  they 
will  send  such  packages.  Retailers  should  remember 
this,  and  take  better  care  of  others'  goods  than  they  do 
of  their  own. 

But  what  is  the  reason  that  the  same  kind  of  a  letter 
written  by  two  different  men  receives  entirely  different 
attention?  Why  is  it  that  you  have  perfect  confidence 
in  one  man  and  distrust  of  another?  Intuition  tells  a 
great  deal,  but  intuition  does  not  tell  the  difference  be- 
tween men  of  whom  one  has  never  seen?  Of  course, 
wholesalers  have  their  rating  books,  but  they  cannot  go 
entirely  by  them.  Some  men  do  not  give  reports,  while 
others  make  fictitious  reports  to  these  companies.  But 
two  men  who  have  been  doing  business  with  the  same 
house  for  several  years  will  during  that  time  expose  to 
the  wholesaler  their  characters  and  dispositions.  He 
will  notice  whether  or  not  a  man  is  particular  as  to  price 
or  discount,  whether  he  looks  for  long  time  in  preference 
to  low  prices ;  whether  he  will  stand  it  to  have  goods  sub- 
stituted or  orders  stuffed;  whether  he  deducts  the  proper 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


153 


discount  from  his  bills,  and  sends  remittances  at  the 
proper  time  or  not ;  whether  he  pays  in  full;  pays  certain 
bills,  or  sends  so  much  on  accotmt. 

From  these  little  thincrs.  a  man  may  gain  the  opinion, 
whether  or  not  vou  are  a  careful  buyer,  and  are  running 
your  store  on  a  safe  basis.  Giaracter  is  worth  more  than 
money,  and  monev  cannot  buy  it.  Tn  the  business  world 
there  is  plenty  of  opportunity  for  advancement  for  men 
of  character.  Men  of  worth,  short  of  money,  can  gen- 
erally get  either  the  money  or  an  extension  of  time.  It 
is  a  good  idea  to  have  a  definite  understanding  with  your 
bank  as  to  the  amount  which  they  are  willing  to  loan 
you.  A  statement  of  your  resources  and  liabilities,  show- 
ing you  to  be  in  good  condition,  will  generally  satisfv 
such  institutions.  With  this  understanding,  you  can  tell 
how  to  proceed  in  buying  and  selling. 

Pay  idl  small  bills  promptly.  Better  owe  two  or  three 
large  accounts,  than  the  same  amounts  divided  among 
twenty-five  or  fifty.  If  at  any  time  through  dull  trade, 
you  find  yourself  unable  to  meet  recurring  obligations  as 
they  come  due,  and  do  not  wish  to  borrow  the  sum 
needed,  write  an  explanatory  letter  to  your  creditor  or 
creditors.  Such  confidence  is  seldom  misplaced  or 
abused.  A  letter  to  the  effect  that  trade  has  been  excep- 
tionally slow,  but  that  in  the  course  of  a  month  you  will 
be  able  to  take  care  of  the  account,  will  generally  bring 
a  satisfactory  reply.  Straightforwardness  never  loses 
the  day.  If  a  letter  is  ever  received  requesting  a  remit- 
tance, or  intimating  that  a  draft  may  be  sent  if  remit- 
tance is  not  immediately  forthcoming,  do  not  throw  the 
letter  into  the  wastetxstsket,  while  you  apply  sundry 
i^)pellations  to  the  writer  thereof,  but  sit  down  amd  write 
a  careful  response  explaining  your  position.  Never 
leave  a  creditor  in  doubt  as  to  what  you  intend  to  do. 
Few  realize  the  benefits  to  be  derived  from  a  reputation 
gained  for  honesty  and  truthfulness.  Start  right  and 
hold  fast  to  the  end.  When  long  time  is  offered  you  on 
goods,  just  see  for  how  much  less  you  can  buy  ^em,  if 


154 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


you  have  the  ready  cash.  Where  six  months'  time  is  of- 
feiyd  and  you  get  lo  per  cent,  off  for  cash,  isn't 
it  an  object  for  you  to  do  so,  when  you  am  get  20  per 
cent,  interest  on  your  money.  This  is  even  mofc  than  the 
fake  mining  companies  offer. 

Do  not  make  outside  investments  which  will  cripple 
your  business.  If  you  are  fortunate  enough  to  have 
money  to  invest  outside  of  your  business,  put  it  into  a 
savings  bank,  city  homestead  aid  association  or  real  es- 
tate, where  it  can  be  used  or  put  up  as  collateral  security 
for  loans  should  necessity  require.  Some  writers  advo- 
cate the  theory  that  the  cause  of  the  present  dull  times 
is  because  of  stock  investments  by  people  who  never  have 
bought  such  stock  before.  Times  have  been  good,  and 
the  great  middle  class  of  people  have  had  spare  money, 
and  being  eager  to  invest  where  great  returns  are 
promised,  have  bought  as  many  shares  of  stock  as  they 
felt  able,  and  have  a  certificate  to  show  as  the  result  The 
jeweler  should  make  his  investments  where  he  can  watch 
them,  and  have  control  of  them,  and  can  realize  quickly 
if  need  be.  It  is  a  good  thing  to  have  something  back  of 
you.  It  gives  people  confidence  in  you,  and  makes  more 
secure  your  position  in  the  business  world. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS,  155 


CHAPTER  XL. 


THS  IDEAL  JEWELRY  CLERK. 

The  Salesman  Must  Have  a  Chance  at  Customers  Else  He 
Can  Hardly  Obtain  Experience — The  Proprietor  Should 
Not  Take  Sales  Out  of  His  Clerk's  Hands— How  the 
Salesman  Should  Handle  His  Customer. 

USUALLY  in  a  jewelry  store,  a  man  has  to  be  an 
all-round  man,  doing  his  share  of  the  various 
kinds  of  repairing,  and  taking  his  turn  at  "wait- 
ing on  customers."  It  is  rather  diffiicnlt  for  a  man  under 
such  conditions  to  develop  into  a  first-class  salesman. 
In  every  establishment  of  any  size  whatever  there  is 
one,  or  perhaps  there  are  several  clerks,  whom  the  pro- 
prietor feels  satisfied  can  handle  any  trade.  It  is  for 
one  of  these  that  he  always  calls  when  a  customer  enters. 
It  has  been  said  that  poets  are  born  not  made,  and 
while  we  must  confess  that  most  salesmen  are  born, 
yet  opportunity  often  makes  the  man.  The  clerk  who 
is  never  pressed  into  service  until  all  others  are  en- 
gaged cannot  well  expect  to  equal  the  one  who  is  doing 
notiiing  else  all  day.  The  best  results  are  naturally 
achieved  by  the  one  who,  by  giving  the  most  time  to  it. 
and  by  so  familiarizing  himself  with  the  stock,  that  it  is 
second  nature  to  him  to  sell  goods.  Showing  goods  is 
not  necessarily  selling  them.  The  ideal  salesman  under- 
stands the  stock  thoroughly  and  discriminates  between 
qualities.  He  does  not  call  everything  he  shows  the 
**best,"  or  the  "latest."  Superlatives  should  be  handled 
with  care. 

In  selling  goods,  it  should  be  his  aim  to  make  and  hold 
the  confidence  of  the  customer,  and  so  secure  not  only 
one  sale,  but  his  continued  patronage.  Tell  the  truth  al- 
ways.  Teach  customers  that  they  can  safely  trust  your 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


advice  and  judgment  Teach  tiiem  that  when  they  leave, 
as  it  were,  the  selection  of  the  article  to  you  that  your 
sense  of  honor  will  not  permit  you  to  sell  anything  which 
is  not  thoroughly  reliable  and  strictly  up-to-date.  Why 
is  it  that  customers  will  wait,  as  they  often  do,  a  full  half- 
hour  in  order  to  have  their  favorite  salesman  wait  upon 
them?  Sometimes  it  is  doubtless  because  he  makes  a 
special  price  to  them,  but  oftener  because  he  has  pleased 
them  with  their  previous  purchases.  It  mieht  be  said 
that  proprietors  do  themselves  and  their  clerks  an  injus- 
tice when  they  make  a  practice  of  makine  differences  in 
prices  which  the  cleik  cannot  do.  If  ^e  cletk  is  not 
competent  to  wait  on  trade,  do  not  adc  him  to  do  so.  If 
it  is  right  for  the  proprietor  to  make  such  cuts,  the  cleric 
should  have  the  same  privilei^ 

The  trouble  with  a  gfreat  many  people  is  that  thev  are 
"near-sighted."  They  cannot  see  beyond  to-dav.  Thev 
seem  to  figure  that  if  the  sale  is  not  made  to-day,  it  is  lost 
forever,  and  so  thev  will  call  a  customer  back,  and  trv  to 
influence  the  sale  by  makincf  a  cut  in  the  price.  Ten 
chances  to  one,  the  customer  will  leave  anvwav.  Per- 
haps he  did  not  intend  to  buy  that  dav ;  or  he  wished  to 
look  elsewhere  before  deciding:  or  perhaps  he  was  devoid 
of  the  "filthy  lucre,"  which  we  are  all  desirous  of  han- 
dling. This  special  oflFer  once  made  must  be  lived  up  to 
should  he  return,  and  the  chances  are  even  that  he  would 
have  returned  anyway. 

A  proprietor  injures  himself,  as  well  as  his  clerk,  when 
he  takes  sales  out  of  his  hands,  and  makes  offers  which 
the  clerk  is  forbidden  to  make.  The  clerk  will  never 
make  a  salesman  if  treated  in  this  way.  It  does  not  give 
him  a  chance  to  develop ;  neither  does  it  fill  him  with  that 
respect  and  esteem  for  his  employer  which  makes  him 
feel  an  interest  in  the  business,  and  a  desire  to  see  the 
business  grow.  A  store  rightly  run  is  ime  where  goods 
are  sold  at  uniform  prices,  and  where  you  can  be  positive 
that  you  boy  equally  as  km  from  one  as  another.  If  a 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS.-  157 


proprietor  does  occasionally  land  a  sale  by  such  methods, 
there  is  just  as  much  lost  during  his  absence  from  the 
store,  because  of  the  inability  of  the  clerk  to  handle  this 
class  of  trade. 

Sometimes  you  may  be  showing  goods  to  a  "looker," 
who  may  need  only  a  word  spoken  at  the  proper  time  to 
transform  him  into  a  purchaser.  A  good  many  "look- 
ers" are  such  because  they  are  minus  cash.  Odiers  are 
such  because  they  dislike  to  part  with  their  money,  and, 
because  they  have  an  unsatisfied  desire  for  jewelry,  con- 
tinue to  be  "lookers."  Such  people  need  persuasion,  and 
it  should  be  done  in  a  judicious  manner.  Other  custom- 
ers wish  to  deliberate  over  their  purchases,  and  such  peo- 
ple should  be  allowed  time  to  thiidc  There  is  such  a  thing 
as  talking  too  much,  but  there  is  just  as  much  danger  of 
saying  too  little.  We  often  hear  of  the  ''silent  salesman,'' 
hut  the  expression  generally  applies  to  mechanical  devices 
which  are  supposed  to  so  display  goods  as  to  promote 
their  sale. 

A  salesman  worthy  of  the  name  makes  such  explana- 
tions regarding  the  goods  as  may  seem  necessary,  with- 
out waiting  to  be  asked.  Every  one  is  not  familiar  with 
the  goods  we  handle,  and  while  it  is  not  necessary  to  go 
into  particulars,  a  general  idea  should  be  given  regarding 
the  goods,  the  qualities,  and  the  reasons  for  the  differ- 
ences in  prices.  With  these  explanations,  a  customer  is 
satisfied,  and  is  able  to  buy  intelligently.  A  great  many 
people  hesitate  about  asking  questions,  as  they  dislike  to 
expose  their  ignorance,  but  will  allow  their  eyes  to  decide 
for  them. 

Qualities  are  so  different  in  gold  and  gold  plated  goods, 
and  as  all  gold  goods  are  gold,  and  all  gold  plated  ones 
are  gold  plated  or  filled,  and  as  the  cheaper  grade  of  filled 
goods  are  invariably  guaranteed  the  longest,  a  clear  state- 
ment of  the  facts  is  really  necessary.  Some  clerks  con- 
sider themselves  salesmen,  because  they  occasionally 
make  a  sale  to  a  friend  or  to  a  customer  who  knows  just 


158 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


what  he  wants,  and  will  buy  at  that  parttctilar  stare  any- 
W9y.  Others  will  show  goods  and  merely  state  the  price 
of  different  articles,  making  no  remarks  regarding  the 
same,  or  making  any  explanation  why  one  style  of  chain 
costs  more  than  another.  In  a  case  like  this  if  any  money 
dianges  hands,  it  is  the  result  of  the  customer  buying,  not 
of  the  clerk  selling. 

The  genuine  salesman  is  full  of  enthusiasm  for  his 
work,  and  has  the  ability  to  suggest  articles  to  customers 
who  are  unable  to  determine  just  what  they  want  to  buy. 
Such  customers  are  sometimes  very  difficult  to  handle,  as 
they  either  have  nothing  in  mind  or  they  have  several  dif- 
ferent articles  in  mind.  So  it  comes  about  that  the  clerk 
has  to  show  them  almost  the  entire  stock  and  perhaps 
leave  them  as  undecided  as  before ;  but  i'f  he  can  concen- 
trate their  attention  on  one  line  of  goods,  or  on  one  par- 
ticular article  the  battle  is  won.  In  this  connection,  a 
word  of  advice  may  be  given.  Never  antagonize  a  cus- 
tomer's opinions  regarding  politics  or  religion,  or  his 
preferences  regarding  jewelry.  When  you  show  a  half- 
dozen  watches  of  different  prices,  notice  the  one  which 
the  customer  appears  to  take  a  fancy  to,  and  then  show 
him  watches  along  that  price,  finally  concentrating  all 
your  energy  to  sell  him  the  one  which  he  has  taken  a  na- 
tion to.  It  is  easier  to  push  than  to  puU»  because  you 
have  the  customer  with  you. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


159 


CHAPTER  XU 


COMPETITION  THE  LIFE  OF  TRADE. 

It  Draws  Trade  and  Is  a  Benefit  to  Jeweler*— Do  Not  Talk 
Against* Your  Bmlnm  Rival— On  the  Contrary  be  in 
Toodi  With  Him  and  W<M:k  Togetlier— Exert  Yonraetf 
to  Plan  CuiUimefi  Advertioe  and  Look  Pkosant. 

^^^^  OMPETITION  is  the  life  of  trade."  This  old 
V  ^  saying  is  a  good  deal  like  that  of  "Honesty 
is  the  best  poUcy." — true,  but  hard  to  believe 
sometimes.  We  should  occasionally  stop  and  consider 
the  difference  there  would  be  between  things  as  ^ey 
now  exist,  and  as  they  would  be  had  we  no  competitors. 
What  do  we  mean  by  competition,  and  who  is  our  com- 
petitor? In  a  foot  race  all  who  enter  are  called 
competitors.  In  business,  however,  we  cannot  call 
every  one  engaged  in  the  same  business  competi- 
tors. Differences  in  location  and  class  of  goods  carried 
eliminate  some  of  our  fellow-craftsmen.  All  jewelers 
have  what  they  call  competitors.  Those  who  seem  to 
cater  to  the  same  class  of  trade,  and  who  carry  practi- 
cally the  same  class  of  goods,  and  who,  perhaps,  are 
nearest  one's  location,  would  most  naturally  be  deemed 
competitors.  Some  jewelers  form  a  dislike  for  these  in- 
terlopers, as  they  term  them;  the  one  first  established 
going  on  the  supposition  that  he  has  pre-empted  the 
entire  claim.  As  a  natural  sequence  of  two  stores  being 
located  in  a  district  where  one  formerly  held  dominion, 
each  will  get  a  share  of  the  business,  and,  unless  a  hustle 
is  made  by  the  first  jeweler,  his  trade  wi'll  naturally  fall 
off.  But  again,  sometimes  a  competitor  serves  a  useful 
purpose.  By  advertising  and  making  attractive  window 
displays,  he  will  not  only  help  himself,  but  you  also,  as 
your  old  friends  will  be  apt  to  call  upon  you  first  for 
new  goods  before  seeing  him.    Sometimes  a  competitor 


i6o 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


will  enliven  business  for  you.  An  instance  is  in  my 
mind  now,  of  a  section  of  a  city  where  a  single  repairer 
without  stock  held  forth  for  years.  No  one  thought  it 
would  pay  to  carry  stock  in  that  section  of  the  city. 
Finally  a  jeweler  opened  up  with  a  stock,  and  was  soon 
followed  by  two  others,  all  of  whom  did  business. 
Finally  two  of  them  moved  away,  and  one  other  con- 
solidated two  stores  and  moved  from  that  section  of  the 
city.  The  remaining  store  was  unable  to  continue  in 
business,  because  ot  lack  of  competition,  which  had 
drawn  much  trade  in  that  direction,  ii'eople  like  to  look 
at  goods  in  several  places,  iiach  jeweler  serves  his 
brothers  a  useful  turn  by  prqaring  the  way  for  a  sale. 
By  showing  goods  to  people  who  are  not  thinking  of 
buying  he  makes  them  think  about  them,  and  perhaps 
when  they  are  in  cme  of  the  other  stores  they  may  make 
a  purchase. 

An  agent  for  a  large  safe  company  was  telling  me 
about  his  experiences.   He  said  that  he  would  scxnedmes 

spend  a  day  talking  safe  to  a  man  who  thought  he  did 

not  need  one,  and  then  he  hnally  would  go  away,  with 
the  promise  of  the  storekeeper  that  he  would  think  it 
over,  ilie  latter  would  do  so,  and  a  few  days  later  an- 
other safe  agent  would  drop  m,  and,  catching  iiim  m  the 
mood,  land  the  sale  without  any  exertion.  Such  work 
may  properly  be  called  missionary  work  and  each  one 
profits  just  the  same  by  the  work  of  others.  Thrs  only 
illustrates  that  your  competitor  can  and  does  befriend 
you. 

Never  berate  your  competitCM*.  Speak  well  of  him. 
If  you  seem  jealous  of  him  people  wUl  think  he  is  hurt- 
ing you  and  will  surely  go  to  sec  him.  Some  men  are 
continually  advertising  ^icir  competitors  by  talking 
against  them.  Do  not  believe  all  the  reports  that  come 
to  you  about  your  competitor.  Do  not  take  it  for 
granted  that  he  is  selling  goods  at  the  cut  prices  which 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS.  i6i 


people  teV  you  about.  Customers  often  tell  things  which 
are  not  absr^lutely  accurate.  If  they  tell  them  about 
your  own  stor?  you  know  better,  but  if  they  tell  you 
that  your  competitor  does  thus  and  so,  how  quick  you 
are  to  believe  them.  People  come  to  know  these  things, 
and  scxne,  if  they  find  they  can  save  50  cents  to  a  dollar 
by  prevarication,  will  do  so.  Another  incident  will 
illustrate  this.  The  writer  was  showing  alarm  clocks, 
and  the  customer  was  attracted  particularly  by  a  $1.50 
clodc  but  informed  me  that  a  friend  of  his  had  bought 
one  from  us  for  a  dollar.  Upon  my  assuring  him  that 
such  was  not  the  case,  he  asserted  that  "if  it  wasn't  a 
ddlar  it  was  $1.25/'  but  finally  ended  by  paying  the 
price  asked. 

Then  again,  people  not  qualified  to  judge  about  qual- 
ities will  make  misstatements  unintentionally.  If  you 
will  take  the  trouble  to  get  acquainted  with  your  com- 
petitor, you  will  find  that  he  is  a  pretty  fair  sort  of  a 
feUow  after  all,  and  you  will  not  believe  that  he  says 
the  things  which  are  rqK>rted  to  you;  neither  will  you 
say  anything  against  lum,  as  your  acquaintance  and 
friendship  will  prevent  it  Each  can  and  shouM 
benefit  the  other.  In  a  small  town  where  Ihere  is  no  job- 
ber the  value  of  a  friendly  feeling  between  competitors 
cannot  be  overestimated.  Small  material,  and  even  stock 
of  vanous  kmds  are  needed  almost  every  day.  How 
mudi  better  to  be  able  to  go  to  a  brother  jeweler  and  find 
him  willing  to  accommo<£ite  us  with  the  needed  material 
or  goods  at  a  reasonaMe  price,  than  to  have  to  wait  sev- 
eral days  or  send  our  customer  to  him,  because  of  the 
delay.  A  man  to  have  friends  must  show  himself  friend-, 
ly.  Perhaps  your  competitor  has  had  the  same  opinion 
about  you  as  you  have  had  about  him,  and  perhaps 
both  had  a  little  reason  to  think  that  way,  and  so  both 
were  partly  in  the  right  and  partly  in  the  wrong. 

A  ccMnpetitor  is  not  necessarily  unfair  because  he  sells 
goods  at  lower  prices  Aan  you.  Difference  in  buying, 
or  different  ideas  of  what  profit  to  place  on  certain  lines 


i62  EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


m 

of  goods,  make  this  divernty  in  prices.  By  ftyfATfating 
with  competitors  and  talking  over  trade  matters  with 
them  and  ccHnparing  prices,  perhaps  these  differences  may 
be  overcome. 

In  most  cases  competition  makes  it  "the  survival  of 
the  fittest."  If  there  are  good  and  suflficient  reasons 
why  the  populace  should  trade  with  you  let  them  know 
about  it.  Show  them  that  you  mean  business  when  you 
say  "we  want  your  trade."  Be  willing  to  exert  yourself 
to  please.  Talk  it  in  your  ads.  Show  it  in  your  face. 
Do  not  rely  on  location,  length  of  time  in  business,  or 
any  other  superficial  reason  for  success. 

Let  competition  develop  the  best  there  is  in  us.  Let 
it  arouse  within  us  our  ambition  to  be  the  leader  in  the 
city.  Let  our  ads,  our  show  windows,  and  our  stores 
extend  to  all  a  welcome  to  call,  and  look,  make  com- 
parisons, if  they  wish,  and  that  we  are  perfectly  willing  to 
abide  by  the  result 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


163 


CHAPTER  XLII. 

BE  OBNBROU8  TO  CUSTOMERS. 

Be  Sure,  However,  and  Make  Them  Pay  for  the  Generosity 
—Little  Things  that  Can't  in  Reality  be  Charged  for 
Oftentimes  Bring  About  an  Important  Sale. 

OMETHING  for  nothing  is  what  everybody  is 

anxious  to  g-ct,  and  no  one  to  i:ive."  Such 
was  the  beginning  of  an  advertisement  sent 
ont  by  one  of  the  watch  case  companies  some  years  ago. 
Nevertheless,  the  retail  jeweler  will  alvvays  be  compelled 
to  give  with  each  sale,  something  which  costs  him  money, 
and  it  should  be  considered  in  establishing  the  price  of 
his  goods.    Take,  for  instance,  the  cases  required  for 
watches,  rings,  brooches,  cuff  buttons,  scarf  pins,  ear- 
rings, and  so  fortli,  which  cost  the  jeweler  from  25  cents 
apiece  upward,  according  to  quality.    Some  stores  charge 
extra  for  these,  but  that  is  a  mistake.    Make  the  price  of 
the  article  enough  to  cover  the  case,  and  throw  that  in.  It 
strikes  the  average  customer  as  rather  small  to  be  charged 
25  cents  to  50  cents  extra  for  an  article  which  cost,  say, 
$25.  It  is  surprising  how  the  offer  of  a  case  with  an  arti- 
cle will  effect  the  sale  in  many  instances,  where  the  cus- 
tomer was  undecided.   Soinehow  an  article  looks  better 
when  it  is  set  aside  from  the  rest  of  the  stock.  When  ^ 
customer  leans  toward  <me  particular  watch,  just  reach 
for  a  velvety  watch  box  and  set  it  in  and  call  the  custo- 
mer's attention  to  it,  and,  nine  dmes  out  of  ten,  the  re- 
mark that  you  will  give  that  with  it,  makes  the  sale 
positive. 

Cases  of  this  kind  should  be  of  good  quality.  Do  not 
make  the  mistake  of  getting  the  cheapest  yoa  can  buy 
because  you  are  going  to  give  them  away.  Give  one 
that  will  not  only  satisfy,  but  please,  and  will  make  the 
recipient  thereof  complunent  your  store,  not  only  for  tbe 


i64 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


ring  or  watch  purchased,  but  for  the  handsome  case 

which  you  gave  with  it.  Then,  again,  the  havmg  of  a 
case  to  give  away,  does  away  with  attempts  to  beat  do^ 
on  the  priK:e.  When  a  customer  asks  for  a  better  price, 
and  you  show  him  the  case  you  intend  to  put  the  artide 
in,  the  fact  that  you  are  showing  a  generous  spirit  will 
often  disarm  him.  Then,  too,  it  will  be  easy  to  say  that 
if  the  case  is  not  desired,  you  can  make  50  cents  differ- 
ence rn  the  price,  and  the  average  customer  will  pay  the 
full  price  and  take  the  outfit  complete. 

In  the  jewelry  business  as  this  is  written,  there  is  a 
leaning  toward  signets  of  every  description,  and  so  we 
find  signet  rings,  signet  bracelets,  signet  fobs,  signet 
brooches,  signet  hat  pins,  signet  diatelames,  clc,  all  call- 
ing for  free  engravmg.  The  stores  fortunate  enot^ 
to  number  engravers  amcMig  their  staff  are  in  a  position 
to  be  congratulated,  but  such  stores  do  not  appreciate 
the  value  of  what  they  give  away  in  this  line  as  well  as 
those  stores  which  have  to  have  such  work  dcme  out  by 
the  piece.  The  stores  with  an  engraver  very  often  can 
land  a  sale,  by  the  offer  to  engrave  in  a  short  time  an 
article  selected.  This  is  a  department  where  the  smallest 
store  carrying  even  a  limited  stock  can  claim  prcedence 
over  its  largest  competitor,  if  there  is  a  marked  difference 
in  tihe  quality  of  engraving  done.  People  would  rather 
pay  a  good  price  than  have  something  given  them  in  the 
way  of,  engraving  which,  instead  of  adding  beauty  to  the 
article,  detracts  from  it. 

So,  if  YOU  do  not  number  among  your  employes  a 
first-class  engraver,  make  arrangements  with  one  to  do 
your  work.  Do  not  save  money  by  doing  it  yourself, 
unless  you  can  do  it  well.  If  the  work  is  poorly  done 
you  will  average  one  sale  to  a  customer.  Whether  you 
do  it  yourself  or  hire  it  done,  when  you  are  taking  an 
order  for  engraving,  get  an  idea  from  the  customer  as 
to  what  style  of  tvpe  or  lettering  they  prefer.  People 
and  their  ideas  differ  greatly,  and  what  would  be  pleas- 
ing to  one  would  not  even  be  accepted  by  another. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


Some  people  consider  Old  English  the  finest  style  of  let- 
tering, and  some  the  block,  while  others  want  "writing 
letters."  Some  thmk  the  "cypher**  mcmogram  inferior 
to  the  old  style  block  letter  monogram,  so  there  you  are. 
If  you  go  ahead  wth  the  work  you  are  as  apt  to  displease 
as  please  them ;  but  with  their  idea  of  what  is  the  pret- 
tiest, and  neatest,  and  most  up-to-date,  you  can  go 
ahead  and  be  very  sure  to  suit  them.  If  people  are  sat- 
isfied with  the  engraving  they  will  speak  of  it  to  their 
friends,  and  you  will  be  the  gainer  thereby. 

Of  course,  we  give  away  time  in  large  quantities 
showing  goods,  but  other  stores  do  that.  The  regula- 
tion of  watches,  the  winding  of  key-winders  for  those  who 
have  forgotten  to  do  so  and  are  without  the  key;  the 
time  spent  in  examining  treasures  picked  up  by  the 
way;  weighing  and  testing  old  gold  and  silver;  examin- 
ing diamond  settings  and  seeing  that  the  stones  are 
secure ;  giving  opinions  as  to  the  advisability  of  having 
changes  made  in  the  settings  of  rings,  brooches,  and  so 
on;  the  kindness  of  heart  which  leads  us  to  discourage 
people  from  spending  money  having  imitation  stones 
mounted;  the  cleaning  up  of  articles  "while  they  wait," 
and  so  on  indefinitely.  It  does  seem  as  though  the  re- 
tail dealer  in  watches  and  jewelry  has  more  calls  made 
on  his  time,  for  which  he  receives  nothing  more  than 
thanks,  and  not  always  that,  than  any  other  business  that 
one  can  think  of.  He  naturally  has  to  make  change  and 
sell  stamps  in  common  with  other  dealers.  So  I  would 
close  with  this  word  of  advice  to  fellow  jewelers.  Do 
cheerfully  all  that  you  necessarily  must  do  for  nothing, 
but,  for  goodness  sake,  don't  do  anything  for  nothing 
for  which  you  can  possiWy  make  a  charge.  In  all  pos- 
sible cases  have  these  little  jobs  left,  as  you  can  charge 
10  cents  apiece  for  many  which  would  go  for  nothing 
if  done  while  the  customer  waits.  If  you  give  anything 
away,  give  the  best  you  can  afford.  Always,  however, 
try  to  cultivate  the  good  opinion  of  your  customer, 
whether  you  sell  hkn  something  at  a  profit  or  make  him 
a  present 


m  EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


CHAPTER  XiLIII. 


THE  AVERAOB  MAN  DBSCRIBSD. 

The  Jeweler  Should  Cater  to  the  Middle  Class,  as  They  Pay 
the  Profits— Have  Only  One  Price— and  That  Plainly 
Marked — Treat  All  Customers  Alike. 

IT  is  a  fact  familiar  perhaps  to  every  reader  that  many 
ministers  of  churches,  in  addressing  their  congre- 
gations, make  it  a  practice  to  select  some  particular 
individual  in  the  audience  toward  whom  they  direct  their 
remarks.  In  this  way  they  can  make  their  sermons  more 
personal  in  character,  and  more  effective  in  results.  It 
is  a  hard  matter  to  talk  in  the  air. 

It  has  also  been  said  that  many  pulpit  orators  deliver 
their  sermons  in  language  which  the  simplest  of  their 
hearers  can  understand.  There  are  lessons  right  here 
for  us  to  team.  Let  us  look  for  the  average  man.  Not 
the  richest  of  our  acquaintances;  not  the  poorest;  not 
0ie  most  karned;  not  the  sin^lest,  but  the  average  man, 
or  the  middle  man,  as  you  may  choose  to  designate  him. 

The  stores  which  have  obtained  the  highest  measure 
of  success,  have  been  those  who  have  catered  to  the 
wants  of  the  avers^  man.  Take  the  use  of  our  show 
windows  for  instance.  Suppose  that  we  fill  our  win- 
dows with  nothing  but  expensive  goods,  even  without 
putting  price  marks  on  them.  How  many  sales  will  re- 
sult from  that  especial  display?  Few,  indeed,  in  the 
opinion  of  the  writer.  Suppose  that  we  fill  it  with  cheap 
jewelry  to  sell  at  25  and  50  cents  each.  What  (pinion 
will  the  passing  throng  form  of  our  store  and  its  equip- 
ment? Will  they  not  size  us  up  as  a  cheap,  or  trashy 
store?  A  fair  place  to  buy  a  trinket  if  yon  only  mah  to 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS.  167 


wear  it  a  few  times  and  throw  it  away.  But  die  right 

idea,  is,  to  appeal  to  the  average  man  through  our  win- 
dows.   So,  while  we  are  particular  not  to  display  any 
goods  which  will  not  wear  and  give  entire  satisfaction, 
we  should  make  it  a  point  to  have  the  majority  of  the 
goods,  so  exhibited,  be  of  the  kind  known  as  popular 
priced,  or  medium  priced  goods,  etc.    In  this  class  will 
be  found  diamond  rings  selling  at  prices  from  $15  to 
$50.    Rings  from  $2.50  to  $10.    Cuff  buttons  from  $1  to 
$10.    Scarf  pins  from  $1  to  $5  and  so  on,  remembering 
that  these  amounts  are  carried  by  the  ordinary  class  of 
people,  who  may  decide  to  purchase  if  they  happen  to 
see  what  they  want.   Who  is  the  average  man?    He  is 
the  man  who  wishes  first  quality  goods,  but  who  is  willing 
that  you  should  make  a  profit  on  your  sales.    He  would 
not  buy  a  so-called  bargain  in  jewelry,  because  he  does 
not  rely  upon  his  judgment  to  select  his  jewelry,  but 
prefm  to  patronize  a  reliable  store  whose  guarantee  rel- 
ative to  qualities  he  can  believe.  Such  men  constitute 
the  large  chss  denominated  as  the  average  man.  Some- 
times it  seems  as  though  they  were  a  smaU  minority  of 
those  with  whom  we  come  in  contact  in  our  business  life, 
but  such  is  not  the  case.   The  customer  who  knows  it 
all  about  watches,  jewelry  and  so  on  (and  has  looked 
over  jobber's  lists  shown  him  by  jewelers  who  wished 
him  to  see  what  a  bargain  they  will  give  him  in  a  watch), 
should  not  be  considered  for  a  moment.    When  you  meet 
a  man  who  begins  to  talk  about  what  he  can  buy  the 
same  thing  for  elsewhere,  do  not  argue  with  him.  As- 
sure him  of  the  difference  in  qualities  which  exist,  and 
that  while  you  have  no  knowledge  of  what  he  has  seen 
elsewhere,  you  cannot  believe  that  he  can  buy  the  same 
quality  goods  for  less  money,  and  that  he  has  probably 
made  a  mistake.    Then  tell  him  if  he  can  trust  his 
own  judgment  then  he  is  safe  in  buying  where  he  con- 
siders it  to  be  to  his  immediate  advantage.   Such  ar- 


EVANS'S  ESS  A  YS 


gumeiits  will  generally  land  him,  but  if  not,  forget  him 
as  soon  as  he  has  left  the  store.  Then  there  is  the 
chronic  kicker  who  always  has  a  complaint  to  offer,  but 
who  is  way  in  the  minority.  There  is  a  sure  way  to  gain 
more  of  the  customers  of  the  average  type,  and  reduce 
the  others.  Cultivate  an  independent  spirit;  one  that 
will  make  people  respect  you.  Be  a  man.  Be  the  pro- 
prietor and  manager  of  your  own  store.  Treat  all  com- 
ers alike  as  regards  the  price  of  goods  or  repair  work. 
Also  make  good  all  guarantees.  Do  not,  however,  allow 
any  one  to  compel  you  to  make  good  broken  parts  which 
do  not  come  under  your  guarantee.  Of  course,  there  are 
cases  where  concessions  are  necessary,  but  such  should 
be  made  voluntarily,  without  coerdon. 

We  must  appeal  to  the  average  customer,  because  we 
must  have  his  trade  whether  we  have  t^  others  or 
not  We  cannot  dqwnd  on  the  rich  alone  as  die  ridi 
man  does  not  expect  to  pay  until  he  gets  ready.  We 
^nnot  appeal  to  the  poor  man  because  we  will  not  sell 
hun  on  credit,  and  he  has  not  ahrays  the  ready  cash. 
The  customers  we  are  looking  for  belong  to  the  great 
middle  class,  for  th^  buy  more  jewelry  than  the  rich, 
and  they  pay  for  it  when  they  get  it. 

The  avmge  man  is  attracted  by  business  conducted 
on^  fair  principles.  The  store  which  plainly  marks  the 
price  of  each^  article  and  sells  the  article  at  that  price,  is 
the  store  which  holds  the  respect  and  patronage  of  the 
average  man.  A  man  who  is  looking  at  a  $io  article 
and  offers  $9  for  it  and  is  promptly  taken  up,  regrets 
that  he  offered  so  much  and  is  dissatisfied.  Had  his 
offer  been  met  with  the  reply  that  the  policy  of  the  store 
was  to  treat  all  comers  alike,  and  that  when  an  artide 
was  priced,  it  was  priced  with  the  amount  which  it  was 
to  be  sold  for,  and  that  one  thing  he  could  depend  upon, 
namely,  that  no  man  could  buy  that  article  for  less  than 
he;  would  it  not  have  resulted  in  the  sale  at  the  fuU  price 


EVANSES  ESS  A  YS. 


169 


to  a  satisfied  customer?  If  a  store  intends  to  sdl  to 
each  customer  at  a  uniform  price  why  should  it  be  neces- 
sary to  have  the  price  in  characters?  Does  it  not  more 
surely  impress  a  possible  customer  with  the  reliability  of 
the  store  to  find  that  the  selling  prices  are  recorded  in 
plain  figures? 

The  average  man  does  not  expect  to  buy  goods  less 
.than  cost,  and  you  insult  his  intelligence  when  you  tell 
him  that  you  sell  goods  less  than  cost.  Instances  could  be 
cited,  showing  where  sales  have  been  lost,  when  nearly 
completed,  by  such  remarks.  The  average  man  is  fa- 
miliar with  the  purpose  of  business  and  does  not  expect 
things  for  nothing.  So  respect  yourself  and  conduct 
your  business  on  lines  which  will  compel  the  respect  of 
the  average  man. 


170  EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


CHAPTER  XLIV, 


TH£  GOOD  WILL  OF  A  BUSINESS. 

Methods  by  Which  a  Valwible  Asset  May  be  Built  Up^ 
Comtmf,  Thoroughnei%  Attention  to  Details  and 
Promptness  Strong  Factors. 

W£  often  read  of  one  man  selling  his  stock  and 
good  will  to  a  second  man,  and  the  thought 
has  often  come  to  me,  as  to  what  the  value  of 

good  will  is,  and  the  several  reasons  giving  it  this  value. 
Good  will  is  that  part  of  a  man's  assets  whose  value  can 
only  be  estimated  and  never  entirely  appreciated.  What 
constitutes  the  difference  in  two  stores  in  the  same  line 
of  business  each  carrying  approximately  the  same  stocks, 
each  situated  as  advantageously  as  the  other,  and 
catering  to  the  same  class  of  trade?  Why  is  it  that 
one  store  is  taxed  to  its  utmost  capacity  to  handle 
a  constantly  growing  trade,  while  the  other  store  has 
plenty  of  room  for  improvement?  Why  is  it  that  two 
men,  with  equal  education,  equal  capital,  and  equal  op- 
portunities, will  arrive  at  such  vastly  different  stations  in 
life?  There  ate  certain  fixed  rules  for  success,  to  which 
you  can  add,  but  you  cannot  substract  therefrom  and  be 
equally  successful.  As  a  means  of  winning  and  holding 
tra4e  (fair  dealing  always  supposed)  a  man's  personality 
enters  to  a  considerable  extent.  This  applies  to  propri- 
etor and  clerks  alike.  The  same  magnetic  qualities 
which  appeal  to  men  politically  also  draw  and  hold  them 
in  a  business  way.  What  constitutes  the  successful  pol- 
itician also  constitutes  the  successful  business  man.  A 
man  must  know  his  customers  not  necessarily  by  name, 
but  he  should  have  his  eyes  open  when  passing  along  the 
street,  so  that  he  will  not  pass  by  the  young  man  who 
bought  the  diamond  ring  yesterday,  aniT  feels  that  he 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS.  i;i 


has  an  acquaintance  with  the  jeweler,  and  expects  to 
speak  to  you  as  he  meets  you.  If  your  attentions  to  him 
yesterday  have  made  him  feel  that  you  were  not  inter- 
ested in  him  and  his  trade,  aside  from  the  immediate  ben- 
efits to  be  derived'  from  the  present  sale,  he  perhaps  will 
gain  the  idea  that  your  friendly  feding  for  him  is  merely 
a  matter  of  dc^rs  and  cents,  and  may  result  in  his  going 
elsewhere  the  next  time. 

It  is  impossible  that  a  dealer  in  any  of  the  cities  should 
know  any  considerable  portion  of  Ms  trade  by  name,  but 
faces  should  be  kept  track  of,  for  more  reasons  than  one. 
How  many  thefts  have  been  committed  right  before  the 
eyes  of  the  jeweler  or  his  clerk,  or  both,  and  neither  one 
be  able  to  give  an  accurate  description  of  the  visitor. 
•  The  power  of  observation  can  be  developed,  and  should 
be.  Courteousness  to  all  comers,  whether  rich  or  poor, 
educated  or  simple,  influential  or  otherwise,  always  pays. 
A  man's  influence  often  counts  for  more  than  his  trade. 
Who  these  influential  ones  are  is  hard  to  tell.  Often 
times  the  man  who  is  apparently  the  most  influential 
would  not  think  of  recommending  you  to  possible  cus- 
tomers, while  others,  pleased  at  your  courteous  treatment 
of  them,  will  go  out  of  their  way  to  do  you  a  good  turn. 
Diplomacy  is  another  valuable  adjunct  to  a  man's  char- 
acter. The  value  of  being  able  not  to  argue  or  dispute 
statements  made,  which  are  of  no  considerable  import- 
ance to  oneself,  is  inestimable.  How  often  a  man  will 
take  up  the  cudgel  in  defence  of  some  political  celebrity, 
and  thereby  offend  a  possible  customer.  While  believing 
in  a  man  having  his  pronounced  views  on  all  subjects  of 
importance  in  politics,  either  national  or  local,  the  writer 
is  deprecating  the  advancing  of  these  opinions  to  unwill- 
ing and  unbelieving  listeners,  whose  opinions  are  un- 
changeable, and  whose  trade  may  be  lost  through  such 
conversation. 

*  Thoroughness  is  necessary  to  make  a  business  founda 
tion  secure.  Haphazard  methods  bring  only  temporary 
successes.   Attentiveness  to  business  and  detaib  is  nec- 


172 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


essary.  The  habit  of  writing  down  just  what  a  customer 
wishes  about  repair  work,  so  that  when  they  call  for  the 
ring  which  was  to  have  a  new  setting  or  a  new  band, 
they  will  not  be  handed  the  old  ring  repaired.  We  arc 
none  of  us  infallible,  and  the  memories  of  most  of  us 
are  taxed  too  heavily  to  stand  the  continual  strain  of 
remembering  this  and  that  little  matter.  It  is  but  the 
work  of  a  minute  to  write  down  what  is  wanted,  and 
then  you  have  it.  So,  too,  about  goods  to  be  ordered  to- 
day, and  promised  to  the  customer  in  two  days*  time. 
They  call  in  for  the  article,  and,  by  so  doing,  remind  us  of 
the  itact  that  we  have  never  ordered  it.  We  do  so  that 
day  of  course,  but  perhaps  they  forget  in  their  turn  to 
call  for  it,  and  the  sale  is  lost.  A  memorandum  at  hand 
to  which  to  refer  and  a  small  card  system  will  obviate 
this  breach  of  memory. 

Hcmesty,  truthfulness  and  sobriety  are  all  necessary 
to  give  a  store  a  first-class  reputation,  and  their  necessity 
are  too  well  known  to  need  comment.  Promptness  also 
tends  to  give  a  store  a  run  of  desirable  trade,  which  other 
stores  are  unable  to  control  through  lack  of  this. 
Promptness  does  not  necessarily  mean  doing  work  any 
quicker  than  you  do  now,  but  it  does  mean  so  systematiz- 
ing your  work,  and  arranging  its  accomplishment  in  such 
manner,  that  each  job  is  ready,  when  called  for.  It  does 
not  necessarily  follow  that  you  must  do  work  while  peo- 
ple wait,  or  while  they  are  down  street.  Allow  a  suitable 
time  for  the  work  to  be  done,  and  have  it  done  then. 
People  are  not  in  such  a  hurry  for  their  work,  but  they 
like  to  know  when  to  come  to  get  it,  thus  saving  time  and 
energy. 

All  of  these  different  habits  of  individuals  tend  to 
make  up  the  policies  of  the  store,  which  creates  a  certain 
friendly  feeling  for  a  store,  which  is  of  considerable 
value,  but  which  cannot  be  set  down  in  dollars  and  cents. 
A  new  proprietor  of  a  store,  by  pursuing  the  same  meth- 
ods, may  hold  the  same  trade,  or  he  may  by  an  eiidre 
change  of  tactics,  lose  the  benefits  accruing  to  that  store 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS, 


173 


from  its  conduct  by  the  first  proprietor.  People  trade  in 
a  store  either  because  of  its  convenience  of  location,  or 
because  of  the  way  in  which  they  are  treated.  Naturally 
the  store  with  the  best  location  has  the  advantage,  be- 
cause tiiey  can  also  work  to  hold  their  trade,  but  the  store 
not  so  well  located  can  draw  its  share,  if  the  fame  of  the 
proprietor  for  fair,  square  dealing  becomes  known,  as 
it  surely  does.  There  may  short  cuts  to  success,  but 
the  good  old  way  is  the  best  and  most  satisfactory  to  a 
man's  conscience  after  all. 

In  considering  this  subject  it  has  been  my  aim  to  point 
out  that  the  good  will  of  your  customers  is  the  princSpal 
thing  you  should  work  for,  thus  building  up  a  friendly 
feelmg  for  a  store  itself,  which  makes  it  desirable  that 
a  new  comer  should  buy  out  an  established  business  with 
its  good  will  rather  than  open  up  in  a  brand  new  location. 


174 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


CHAPTER  XLV. 


FRIENDSHIP  IN  BUSINESS. 

How  a  Friendly  Greeting  and  Kindly  AttitudA  Helps  One 
With  the  Wholesalers — Acquaintances  Turned  Into  Val* 
uable  Friends  Courtesy  Towards  Competitoft. 

WE  are  all  apt  to  place  too  small  a  value  on  our 
friendships,  and  never  realize  their  importance 
until  we  lose  some  of  them.  Personal  friend- 
ships should  be  cultivated.  Acquaintance  is  not  enough, 
"A  man  to  have  friends  should  show  himself  friendly. ' 
Be  friendly.  One  never  knows  when  he  may  have  need 
of  friends, — not  necessarily  to  loan  him  money,  but  to 
speak  a  good  word  in  commendation  or  defense  of  him. 
.  We  should  also  strive  to  so  conduct  our  affairs,  and 
govern  our  words  and  actions,  that  we  will  have  the 
friendship  of  the  wholesalers  from  whom  we  must  ob- 
tain a  large  share  of  our  merchandise.  Be  gentle- 
manly to  all  comers.  A  man  who  uses  all  traveling 
men  as  though  they  were  interfering  with  his  business, 
and  who  acts  in  such  a  way  that  they  can  see  that  their 
visits  are  not  appreciated,  cannot  be  said  to  have  their 
friendship.  They  would  cease  to  call  upon  him  if  their 
house  did  not  insist.  But  how  different  with  the  jew- 
eler who  has  a  friendly  greeting  for  all  comers,  and 
who  has  the  aibility  to  send  them  all  away  satisfied 
with  visit,  whether  they  buy  anything  or  not. 
Such  jewelers  receive  the  best  advice  which  the  salesman 
is  capable  of  imparting  relative  to  goods,  and  the  prices 
are  generally  right. 

Then,  too,  there  is  the  friendship  of  our  brother  jew- 
elers. It  pays  to  stand  well  with  them.  It  costs  noth- 
ing, and  does  lots  of  good.  How  often  a  jeweler, 
through  jealousy,  will  make  remaiics  regarding  his  com- 
petitor, ^t  will  make  it  impossiMe  for  him  to  call  upon 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS.  i75 


competitor  for  the  slightest  acconunodatioa,  even  if 
he  is  sorely  in  need  of  that  favor.  There  are  various 
ways  of  courting  the  favor  of  brother  jewelers,  even 
where  not  acquainted.  If  you  have  not  in  stodc  what  a 
customer  is  seeking,  and  they  are  about  to  leave  your 
store,  why  not  suggest  to  them  that  they  try  Blank's,  or 
Smith's.  If  they  go  there  they  will  very  likely  speak  of 
the  fact  that  you  referred  them,  and  the  jeweler  so  bene- 
fited may  have  occasion  to  return  the  compliment  with 
interest  The  writer  had  an  incident  of  "bread  cast  upon 
the  waters"  several  years  ago.  A  gentleman  caller,  com- 
plaining about  his  glasses,  mention^  the  fztt  that  he  had 
bought  them  at  another  store,  and  requesting  the  writer's 
OfMnion  as  to  whether  or  not  the  glasses  were  right.  He 
was  told  that  the  firm  he  mentioned  were  perfectly  hon- 
orable, and  would  be  glad  to  make  right  any  errors  in 
fitting.  He  took  the  advice,  and  went  back  to  the  orig- 
inal place,  where  the  necessary  correction  was  made,  and 
the  customer  satisfied.  The  customer  mentioned  the  fact 
to  the  optician  that  we  had  referred  him  bade  again,  and, 
through  this  one  act  of  courtesy,  we  were  recipients  of 
many  a  referred  customer  for  jewelry  from  the  optician. 

But  the  jewder  derives  most  good  from  the  friendship 
of  his  retail  customers.  A  friendly  word  spdken  here 
and  there  does  worlds  of  good.  One  may  Wow  his  own 
horn  all  he  pleases,  and  people  will  make  due  allowance 
for  all  that  he  says.  "Let  another  praise  thee,  and  not 
thine  own  sdf is  good  advice  to  follow,  but  suppose  no 
one  praises  you.  A  man  must  necessarily  speak  well  of 
himsdf,  his  business  and  his  business  methods,  but  if  he 
can  only  develop  the  faculty  of  making  and  keeping 
friends,  he  will  have  pec^le  working  for  him  all  the  while 
who  demand  no  salary,  and  whose  influence  is  practkally 
unlimited  in  making  sales. 

A  good  many  jewelers  and  other  tradesmen,  go  to  cer- 
tain places,  join  organizations  and  churches,  for  what 
they  can  get  out  of  Qiem.  Such  people  generally  realize 
but  little  from  thdr  misdirected  efforts.   People  are  will- 


1/6 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


ing  to  serve  you,  but  they  do  not  like  to  feel  that  they 
m  bemg  used,  or  tfiat  they  are  valued  solely  for  whi^ 
can  be  gotten  from  them. 

Every  sdif-respectiiig  person  considers  himself  of  a 
certain  amount  of  importance,  and  that  his  friendship  is 
worth  having.  This  certainly  is  true.  The  retailer 
should  consider  the  light  in  which  he  views  the  traveling 
representative  who  in  his  frequent  trips  is  voluble  in  his 
greeting,  but  who  takes  a  hurried  departure  when  he 
finds  out  that  there  is  "nothing  doing."  How  differ- 
ently we  view  the  expected  arrival  of  our  friends  in  the 
whdesale  trade  with  whom  it  is  possible  to  spend  a  few 
minutes  in  conversation  regarding  current  topics. 

It  is  said  that  first  imfwessions  are  the  most  lasting, 
and  we  should  strive  to  see  that  first,  second  and  last  im- 
pressions are  made  to  the  effect  that  while  we  are  in  the 
jcwehy  busmess,  it  is  still  possible  for  us  to  spend  time 
conversing  with  people,  without  talking  "shop."  It  is 
no  wonder  that  so  many  writers  discuss  the  bad  form  of 
talking  "shop."  There  is  a  time  for  everything.  We 
should  show  our  friends  that  we  are  interested  in  them, 
in  the  things  that  they  are  interested  in,  and  that  we  like 
to  know  what  their  plans  are  for  their  summer  vacation, 
or  winter  trip,  or  what  books  they  are  reading,  what 
plays  they  have  seen,  and  so  on.  A  man,  truly,  cannot 
depend  upon  his  friends  and  expect  to  hold  the  trade  of 
all,  but  it  has  been  the  experience  of  the  writer  that  most 
friends  are  willing  to  give  one  a  chance,  but  the  jeweler 
should  encourage  the  calling  of  a  friend  at  his  store,  by 
showing  them  whatever  they  are  interested  in,  and  not 
urging  the  purchase.  Make  it  easy  for  customers  gen- 
erally, and  friends  particularly,  to  call  and  look.  The 
more  people  look  at  your  goods,  the  more  ^oods  you  will 
sell.  Therefore,  encourage  the  lookers.  Encourage  the 
friendly  call,  but  never  allow  it  to  interfere  with  business. 
A  call  of  a  friend  will  break  the  monotony  of  the  day's 
work,  and  your  friends  by  calling  will  see  your  stock  and 
be  able  to  recommend  others,  if  there  is  nothing  they 
need  themselves. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS.  17; 


CHIAPTER  XLVI. 


DO  YOUR  BEST,  AND  DO  IT  NOW. 

An  Easy  Matter  to  Acquire  the  Habit  of  Carefulness — Don't 
Procrastinate  on  a  Disagreeable  Matter — Avoid  Slip  Shod 
Methods — Good  Work  is  its  Own  Reward. 

IN  whatever  you  undertake  to  do,  always  do  your 
best.   Tliis  should  be  die  rule  of  every  one  of  us. 

It  is  an  easy  matter  to  acquire  the  habit  of  care- 

fuhiess  or  the  habit  of  carelessness.  Once  formed, 
either  habit  become  part  of  a  man's  daily  life.  If 
he  has  become  accustomed  to  thoroughness,  it  is  shown 
in  the  manner  in  which  he  performs  his  duties.  If 
he  is  naturally  careless  it  is  shown  in  his  conduct 
and  in  his  remarks.  "That's  good  enough."  We've 
all  heard  it  and  doubtless  all  used  it  to  a  greater  or  lesser 
extent  When  a  man  finds  it  necessary  to  offer  himself 
or  his  fellows  an  explanation  or  apology  of  this  sort,  he 
knows  that  the  job  is  not  done  as  it  should  be.  How 
much  better  to  spend  a  few  minutes  longer  and  then  teU 
oneself,  "That's  all  right"  Both  are  short  sentences, 
but  eadi  conveys  a  world  of  meaning  and  of  two  entirely 
different  sorts.  Slipshod  methods  are  never  productive 
of  any  good  results.  It  is  so  easy  to  put  off  from  day  to 
day  needed  work  in  various  lines.  If  a  job  is  brought 
in  which  does  not  strike  us  as  being  a  desirable  one, 
action  will  be  postponed  from  day  to  day,  until  repeated ' 
calls  from  our  customer  will  make  it  imperative  to  make 
a  decided  move  of  some  kind.  Perhaps  we  will  get  it 
from  our  shop  and  hand  it  back  with  the  ronaik  that 
it  will  not  pay  to  fix,  or  something  of  that  sort.  Or 
perhaps  we  will  go  ahead  and  do  a  different  kind  of  a 
job  from  that  which  was  ordered  (we  in  the  meantime 
having  forgotten  the  exact  orders  given),  and  dissatis- 
factioii  ia  the  icsulL 


178 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


If  we  have  a  mean,  disagreeable  job  hanging  over  tii, 
let  lis  do  as  our  advertising  friends  in  the  magazines  ad- 
vise,— "Do  it  now."  It  is  wonderful  how  nuich  of  a 
load  is  lifted  from  one's  shoulders  by  conquering  one 

of  these  jobs.  There  is  only  one  way  to  do  work  and 
have  it  satisfactory  to  the  jeweler  and  his  customer:  That 
is,  the  right  way.  If  we  are  not  satisfied  with  a  job 
done,  we  should  do  it  over  and  thereby  "make  assurance 
doubly  sure/'  in  order  that  our  customer  will  be  pleased. 
It  is  not  enough  that  the  customer  offers  no  complaint, 
or  a  very  slight  one,  and  takes  the  work  along.  Some 
people  do  not  like  to  find  fault  and  would  rather  take  a 
job  to  another  store  to  have  it  done  over  again  rather 
than  make  a  complaint. 

What  is  the  result,  if  a  customer  does  take  work,  sup- 
posedly done  right  at  your  store,  to  a  competitor  to  have 
it  done  over  again?  Comparison,  so  natural,  between 
your  methods  and  those  of  your  competitor,  with  the 
odds  in  his  favor  will  result.  The  natural  inference  of 
the  customer  is  that  jeweler  number  two  is  the  more 
competent,  whereas  the  real  distinction  may  lie  in  the 
halnts  acquired,  one  jeweler  being  careless  and  the  other 
thorough.  Their  natural  abilities  being  equal.  Number 
Two  is  bound  to  win  out.  So  ofto  we  hear  remaiks 
that  "this  job  does  not  hardly  suit  me,  but  IH  show  it  to 
the  customer,  and  if  he  kicks,  weH  do  it  omJ*  Do  it 
now.  We  none  of  us  Uke  the  kickers,  but  after  all  is 
said  and  done,  the  kidcers  come  pretty  near  getting  their 
rights.  The  Good  Book  tells  the  story  of  tiie  widow  and 
the  unjust  judge,  who  finally  granted  her  petition  because 
die  "troubled  him"  sufficiently. 

Every  jeweler  has  more  or  less  work  which  it  is  neces- 
sary to  send  to  other  repairers  who  make  a  specialty  of 
doing  difficult  work,  and  who,  by  reason  of  more  experi- 
ence with  such  work,  are  more  liable  to  have  success 
with  it.  The  jeweler  who  sends  his  work  to  such  repairers 
does  so  because  he  expects  his  customer  to  be  served  bet- 
ter, and  as  he  has  to  assume  the  responsibility  resulting 
from  such  jobs,  he  should  insist  upon  their  being  done 
ri^  You  cannot  afford  to  lose  customers  as  the  re- 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


179 


suit  of  others'  negligence.  You  should  be  just  as  partic- 
ular with  such  work  as  you  are  with  your  own,  but  no 
more.  Your  customer,  paying  you  your  price  for  work, 
demands  satisfaction,  and  it  is  your  business  to  give  it! 
Charge  as  much  as  may  be  necessary  to  cover  the  expense, 
but  he  sure  that  it  is  well  done.  Never  tell  a  customer  they 
would  not  be  willing  to  pay  for  a  first-class  job.  Always 
talk  to  customers  as  though  you  todc  it  for  granted  that 
nothing  short  of  the  best  would  suit  them,  and  that  the 
expense  is  a  secondary  consideration.  Every  one  of  us 
has  listened  to  tirades  against  odier  jewelers,  regarding 
methods  and  so-called  unfau-  treatment  The  wise  man 
takes  no  part  in  these  discussions,  but  proceeds  to  learn 
a  valuable  lesson  therefrom. 

While  no  human  being  can  fdease  some  of  the  pe<^le 
we  run  up  against,  one  can  come  a  good  deal  nearer  pleas- 
ing every  one  if  he  does  his  best.  Articles  sold  should  if 
necessary  be  cleaned  up  without  waiting  for  a  customer 
to  request  it.  So,  too,  a  case  given  with  an  article  should 
be  spotless.  Do  not  think  that  anything  short  of  the 
best  will  do.  People  buying  articles  often  overlook  small 
imperfections,  but  upon  later  scrutiny  these  are  brought 
to  light.  If  the  jeweler  has  overlooked  these,  he  is 
blameless,  but  if  he  has  knowingly  sold  an  imperfect  arti- 
cle on  the  theory  that  the  customer  will  not  notice  it,  he 
deserves  any  condemnation  which  they  may  be  pleased 
to  bestow. 

The  satisfaction  of  a  ^ood  deed  is  often  spoken  of, 
but  it  exceeds  but  very  little  the  satisfaction  of  a  well- 
done  job,  whether  it  be  of  repairing  or  engraving,  or 
any  small  job  around  the  store.  "Be  your  own  boss." 
We  see  these  words  in  the  different  magazines  encourag- 
ing^ the  young  and  unsophisticated  to'  invest  money  in 
businesses  they  are  not  acquainted  with.  But  we  should 
work  so  that  we  will  merit  our  approbation,  and  if  we 
make  ourselves  overseers  of  ourselves  and  can  suit  our 
tadcmasters,  we  can  come  pretty  near  suiting  our  custo- 
mers. 


i8o 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


CHAPTER  XLVII. 


HAVE  CONFIDENCE  IN  YOURSELF. 

If  You  Don't  Have  Confidence  in  Yourself,  Who  Will  Have 
Confidence  in  You — Be  Careful  How  You  Make  Prices, 
But  When  Made,  Stick  to  Them. 

**  Know  tlien  thyself,  presume  not  God  to  scan, 
The  proper  study  for  mankind  is  man.'* 

ONE  who  determines  to  become  an  athlete  must 
learn  just  what  exercises  he  must  practice  in  or- 
der to  develop  certain  sets  of  muscles  :  one  ex- 
ercise perhaps  for  the  muscles  of  the  back,  another  for 
the  chest,  another  for  the  forearm,  and  so  on.  It  is  no 
wonder  that  after  years  of  training  we  find  some  men 
so  wonderfully  developed  physically.  A  professional 
man  arrives  at  his  station  in  life  after  years  spent  in  pre- 
paratory study,  and  in  acquiring  practical  experience. 
But  what  a  difference  in  business  life.  A  man  will  buy 
a  stock  of  goods  and  open  up  in  business,  sometimes 
without  any  knowledge  of  the  business,  except  where  to 
obtain  his  suppHes.  Jewelers  generally  are  better  pre- 
pared than  most  business  men  but  all  are  lacking  in 
many  points. 

To  obtain  a  full  measure  of  success,  certain  qualifica- 
tions are  necessary.  Having  the  qualifications,  how  are 
we  to  impress  our  customers  regarding  our  capabilities? 
By  practical  demonstration,  of  course.  But  how  are  we 
to  obtain  the  opportunity  to  demonstrate  our  abilities? 
We  must  show  by  our  conversation  and  actions  that  we 
are  self-confident.  People  often  ridicule  the  man  who 
thinks  he  knows  it  all,  but  they  respect  him  just  the  same 
for  his  self-confidence.  If  you  had  a  case  at  law,  you 
would  want  a  lawyer  who  had  confidence  in  his  abilities 
to  handle  the  case  properly.   If  you  had  need  of  a  sur- 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


i8i 


geon  you  would  want  one  who  would  go  ahead  without 
unnecessary  delay.  People  for  the  same  reason  bring 
work  to  you,  and,  if  you  appear  to  understand  your  busi- 
ness, they  leave  it  in  perfect  satisfaction  that  they  will  be 
attended  to  in  a  first-class  manner. 

In  the  sales  department  knowledge  of  qualities  and 
necessary  profits  is  essential.  If  a  customer  asks  a  ques- 
tion  regarding  qualities,  he  should  be  answered  promptly 
and  mtelligently.  If  you  have  confidence  in  yourself, 
and  your  buying  abilities,  and  understand  the  marking  of 
goods,  you  more  easfly  obtain  and  hold  the  confidence  of 
your  customer.  A  jeweler  should  always  remember  that 
pcoiMe  rely  more  or  less  on  his  judgment  when  they  buy 
from  him,  and  that  his  reputation  is  at  stake  when  he 
mak^  statements  relative  to  qualities. 

A  jeweler  should  know  what  profit  he  must  ask  on  his 
goods,  in  order  to  show  a  gain  after  his  expenses  are 
paid.  ^  The  actual  diflFerence  between  cost  and  selling 
price  is  not  profit.  The  legitimate  expenses  of  the  busi- 
ness form  a  certain  per  cent,  of  the  total  receipts  of  the 
business,  which  percentage  must  be  added  to  the  net  cost 
of  the  goods  before  the  profit  can  be  figured.  After  once 
establishing  your  price,  maintain  it.  Have  confidence  in 
your  prices.  Your  customer  will  respect  you  and  your 
methods  more,  and  you  will  do  business  over  and  over 
with  him  without  his  asking  for  a  difference. 

When  the  bicycle  business  was  at  its  height  the  writer 
was  one  day  in  a  bicycle  store  awaiting  his  turn,  and 
heard  a  conversation  between  the  cycle  dealer  and  his 
customer.  At  that  time  wheels  sold  for  $125  down. 
This  dealer  after  showing  one  of  the  high  grade  wheds,' 
showed  a  cheaper  grade,  with  die  remaik,  "There's  a 
wheel  we  can  sell  you  for  a  hundred  dollars,  or,  on  a 
pinch,  we  can  sell  it  for  ninety."  He  did  not  have  coa- 
fidence  in  his  price,  and  so  quoted  the  lower  price  in  the 
same  breath.  If  he  made  the  sale,  which  price  do  you 
thiok  was  paid? 


l82 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


If  we  should  take  a  glance  over  any  one  of  the  several 
courses  in  hypnotism,  we  will  learn  that  before  we  pro- 
ceed further  we  must  first  learn  to  control  ourselves. 
This  once  accomplished,  we  can  begin  to  exercise  control 
over  others.  If  we  wish  to  obtain  the  confidence  of  oiir 
customers  we  must  first  have  confidence  in  ourselves. 
One  way  to  develop  confidence  in  ourselves  is  to  be  as 
independent  and  self-reliant  as  possible;  not  independent 
of  advice,  but  having  that  ability  to  decide  things  for 
ourselves.  The  person  of  wavering  mind,  who  must  nec- 
essarily consult  this  one  and  that  one  before  deciding, 
and  who  is  never  satisfied  then,  cannot  accomplish  much 
in  this  world.  Neither,  perhaps,  does  the  hit-or-miss 
style  of  doing  business.  A  man  should  consider  well  his 
business  movements,  but  should  learn  to  depend  upon 
himself.  Make  mistakes  if  necessary,  but  learn  through 
mistakes.  Try  not  to  make  the  same  mistake  twice. 
That  is  improvement.  The  too  cautious  man  makes  few 
mistakes  but  accomplishes  little.  The  captains  of  indus- 
try are  those  who  have  had  confidence  in  themselves  and 
have  gone  forward  to  victory  after  victory. 

Mistakes  made  in  quoting  prices  on  repair  or  new 
work  form  an  education  valuable  in  the  extreme.  If  we 
lose  a  dollar  on  a  job,  we'll  remember  it  whenever  we  see 
a  job  of  like  style  and  will  give  a  price  accordingly.  If 
a  jeweler  states  a  positive  price  to  a  customer,  the  writer 
believes  that  he  should  hold  to  it,  even  at  a  loss,  as  it  is 
better  to  lose  in  money  than  in  reputation.  You  may 
never  have  a  similar  job  to  do  for  that  customer,  and  if 
you  do,  it  is  not  necessary  to  do  so  at  a  losing  price. 

Always  talk  confidently  about  business  in  general,  and 
your  own  in  particular.  Never  express  any  doubts  as  to 
the  outcome  of  business.  If  asked  for  special  discounts 
or  terms,  and  you  can  refuse  and  look  the  man  straight 
in  the  eye,  he  believes  you,  that  you  cannot  afford  to  do 
it.  This  is  confidence.  Have  that  same  confidence  in 
yourself.   "Virtue  is  its  own  reward.'*  • 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


183 


CHAPTER  XLVIII. 

LUCK  OR  PLUCK—  WHICH  WINS? 

In  Most  Cases  All  the  Argument  is  in  Favor  of  Pluck — The 
Man  Who  Works  Hard  and  Enthusiastically  for  His 
Employer  or  Himself  Usually  Wins. 

JEFFERSOfN,  in  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
held  that  "all  men  are  created  equal."  Eighty- 
seven  years  later  Lincoln  declared  the  negro  the 
white  man's  equal,  in  so  far  as  the  rights  to  liberty  and 
the  pursuit  to  happiness.  All  men,  however,  are  not 
equal.  Given  the  same  talents,  two  men  ought  each  to 
accomplish  practically  the  same  amount  of  work,  if  en- 
gaged in  the  same  occupations.  Two  boys,  each  equally 
bright,  each  able  to  learn  his  lessons,  without  especial 
effort,  and  who  never  fail  to  rank  well  on  examinations, 
finally  graduate  and  enter  business  life,  each  in  relatively 
the  same  position.  Twenty  years  later  finds  one  still 
holding  down  the  same  position,  while  the  other  is  the 
head  of  a  large  manufacturing  business.  Wherein  lies 
the  diflPerence?  Perhaps  the  man  in  the  smaller  posi- 
tion believes  that  he  is  a  creature  of  circumstances  and 
his  friend  a  child  of  luck.  So  often  we  hear  people 
speak  of  a  successful  man  as  being  lucky,  or  that  every- 
thing he  touches  turns  to  money.  Luck  very  seldom 
places  a  man  above  his  fellows,  while  pluck  almost 
always  does.  A  man  who  depends  upon  luck  sel- 
dom amounts  to  much  in  the  btusiness  world.  He  be- 
longs with  the  self-satisfied  person,  who  relies  on 
his  own  superficial  knowledge  and  upon  being  able 
to  bluff  his  way  though.  Men  of  this  calbre  must 
necessarily  fail  sooner  or  later.  Not  so  he  who  is  plucky 
and  understands  that  no  man  pays  an  emf^oye  any  more 
or  keeps  him  any  longer  than  his  services  are  worth  a 
certain  stun  more  to  his  emphyer  than  what  he  is  paying 


i84  EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


him.  Such  a  young  man,  while  congratulating  himself 
upon  securing  a  position  with  a  first-class  firm,  does  not 
consider  the  battle  won  but  just  begun.  He  intends  to 
make  sure  of  his  present  position  to-day  and  of  a  better 
one  to-morrow  by  being  thorough  in  his  work  and  by 
constantly  improving  himself.  The  man  who  is  valuable 
to  his  employer  is  he  who  is  competent  and  who  is  willing 
to  assume  responsibility,  and  he  it  is  to  whom  the  em- 
ployer lodes  when  changes  in  the  personnel  of  the  staff 
makes  possible  and  necessary  promotions  along  the  line. 

AH  of  us  are  anxious  for  worldly  success,  in  so  far  as 
the  desire  is  within  us  to  be  able  to  spend  large  amounts 
in  various  channels,  either  in  travel  to  distant  lands  or 
within  our  own  borders,  or  in  home  building,  or  whatever 
our  enthusiasm  tends  to.  But  he  whose  ambition  for 
success  begins  and  ends  with  '1  wish"  never  acquire* 
the  success  for  which  he  pines.  It  is  he  who,  while  he 
hopes  for  future  greatness,  sets  about  nuddng  that  great' 
ness  possible;  who,  while  holding  a  subordimite  positiofi, 
hy  wofk  and  study  fits  himself  to  fill  the  advanced  posi- 
tion with  the  attractive  salary  whidi  he  craves.  Fluck 
gets  the  advancement,  while  lode  tarries  bdund.  While 
most  of  the  readers  of  these  articles  are  their  own  bcMses, 
still  the  same  rule  apf^es  to  them.  It  has  been  said 
"that  if  a  man  can  do  something  better  than  anyone 
else,  he  can  do  business  in  the  middle  of  a  prairie."  TTiis 
may  seem  improbable,  but  it  serves  only  to  illustrate  the 
importance  of  thoroughness,  which  to  my  mind  is  but 
the  natural  result  of  pluck.  The  man  who  depends 
upon  ludc  is  apt  to  acquire  a  procrastinating  halut.  He 
waits  a  day  or  so,  expecting  that  he  will  feel  more  like 
it  or  it  will  come  to  him.  Pluck  manfully  tackles  any- 
thing. Too  many  fail  through  lack  of  thoroughness. 
Their  natural  abilities  and  their  opportunities  equal  those 
of  their  apparently  more  fortunate  brethren. 

Thoroughness  means  effort,  and  this  some  of  our 
young  business  men  are  not  desirous  of  making.  To- 
day I  heard  the  remark  that  if  we  were  all  millionaires 

we  would  all  starve  to  death,  because  there  would  be  no 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS.  185 


tillers  of  the  soil.  AH  would  wish  to  take  things  easy 
and  merely  live  upon  the  interest  resulting  from  their 
investments.  So  it  is  well  that  we  have  to  work  to  sup- 
port ourselves. 

Some  men,  however,  can  woik  well  for  others;  better, 
in  fact,  than  they  can  for  themselves.  Why  is  this? 
It  would  seem  that  a  man  would  woric  harder  when  the 
results  of  his  labor  went  to  himself  rather  than  to  an- 
other. Is  it  because  a  man  feds  that  he  has  reached 
the  summit  when  he  has  a  sign  over  a  store,  vnfh  his 
name  blazoned  upon  it,  and  has  a  complete  outfit  of  letter- 
heads and  envdopes,  billheads  and  statements,  and  now 
feels  ihait  after  being  confined  to  certain  hours  for  so 
long  he  will  get  down  a  little  later  in  the  morning,  take 
a  little  longer  for  dinner  and  sui^)er,  and  take  other  little 
liberties  with  himself  which  were  impossiWe  when  he 
was  employed  by  another.  These  liberties,  perhaps 
harmless  in  themselves,  are  hurtful  in  the  end,  as  they 
encourage  laxity  and  carelessness.  Then,  too,  in  many 
establishments  it  would  mean  a  loss  of  time  of  his  em- 
ployes while  he  killed  time  himself. 

A  man  must  have  self-respect  if  he  wishes  the  respect 
of  others;  so,  too,  he  must  be  as  faithful  to  his  own  in- 
terests as  he  would  to  those  of  another  if  he  would  have 
success.  People  watch  you  when  you  are  in  business 
for  yoursdf.  If  you  are  employed  by  another,  it  be- 
comes a  question  of  satisfying  him,  but  as  your  own  em- 
ployer you  must  satisfy  the  multitude.  Many  hold  aloof 
until  the  pluck  of  the  new  jeweler  has  demonstrated 
that  he  is  in  the  field  to  stay,  and  then  they  will  bestow 
the  patronage  which  was  withheld  when  most  needed. 

Pluck,  while  convincing  one  of  the  positiveness  of 
ultimate  success,  encourages  one  to  persevere  in  his 
determination  to  succees,  and  through  perseverance^  a 
man  achieves  thoroughness  and  the  ability  to  await  with 
patience  the  results  of  his  labors  and  to  work  while  he 
waits.  Lack  of  ability  doubtless  holds  many  down,  but 
lack  of  thoroughness  and  lack  of  a  willingness  to  win 
success  on  our  merits  shuts  the  door  to  many  more. 


I86 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


CHAPTER  XUX. 


COMPARING  NOTES  PROFITABLE. 

How  the  Exchange  of  Views  Among  Jewelers  May  Prove 
of  Mutual  Advantage — Don't  Ignore  Your  Compctitort 
—To  Your  Friends,  Be  Friendly. 

OMPARISON  suits  us."  How  often  we  hear 
\^  those  words,  or  those  other  words  of  like 
meaning,  "See  our  goods  and  compare  our 
prices  with  others  before  purchasing."  Whether  or  not 
it  is  because  of  this  continual  agitation  to  compare,  we, 
the  public  generally,  unconsciously  make  comparisons  of 
different  kinds.  We  compare  this  house  with  that;  the 
pavement  on  this  street  with  the  pavement  on  the  next ; 
this  church  and  its  pastor  with  its  neighboring  rival ;  and, 
also,  we  con^re  this  store  with  the  other,  and  thus 
we  will  hear  a  man  advised  by  one  friend  to  have  Smith 
repair  that  French  dock,  and,  later  in  the  day,  to  re- 
assure himself  that  he  is  going  to  do  the  proper  tiling, 
he  asks  another  friend  what  he  tMnks  of  Smith  as 
a  repairer,  he  may  be  tdd  to  keep  away  from  him. 
Such  comparisons  are  not  always  pleasant  or  profitable, 
but  there  are  ways  in  which  comparison  can  be  made  to 
give  us  necessary  assistance.  One  way  is  by  comparii^ 
notes  with  our  fellow-craftsman.  Of  course,  as  a  pre- 
liminary to  such  comparison,  a  friendly  acquaintance  is 
necessary,  but  this  is  easy  enough  to  obtain  and  hxAA. 

In  cities  where  organizations  of  jewelers  exist,  it  has 
been  found  mutually  profitable  to  interchange  views  cm 
different  trade  topics  at  the  meetings.  But  it  is  not 
necessary  to  await  the  formation  of  a  jewelers'  club  to 
begin  to  compare  notes  with  our  tradesmen.  It  has  been 
said  that  jewelers  are  loath  to  part  with  information  they 
have  acquired,  preferring  to  keep  that  knowledge  secret 
and  as  part  of  the  assets  of  their  business,  believing  that 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


187 


others  can  find  out  these  things  for  themselves  in  any  way 
that  they  can.  But  have  these  people  who  figure  that 
way  ever  stopped  to  consider  that  perhaps  the  man  sit- 
ting next  to  them,  feeling  friendly  and  cheered  on  to  do 
it,  because  of  the  first  man's  generosity  in  imparting 
valuable  information,  may  go  him  one  better  and  doubt- 
less tell  him  something  worth  dollars  to  him  ? 

It  is  a  good  habit  to  form  of  dropping  in  to  see  our 
competitors  occasionally,  as  it  gives  an  opportunity  to 
correct  false  impressions  regarding  our  methods  of  hand- 
ling and  treating  customers,  or  reported  statements  said 
to  have  been  made  by  us  regarding  our  competitors. 
With  some  dealers  (who,  perhaps,  are  not  acquainted 
with  you)  the  fact  that  a  customer  says  that  he  can  buy 
a  certain  kind  of  watch  from  you  for  a  less  price  than 
is  asked  by  your  competitor,  will  result  in  permanent  cut 
in  price  of  that  article  and  the  creation  of  a  bitter  feeling 
toward  you.  If  you  are  in  the  habit  of  dropping  in  once 
in  a  while  to  see  him,  he  will  feel  well  enough  acquainted 
to  ask  you  whether  or  not  you  sell  goods  at  such  and  such 
prices  and  an  opportunity  will  arise  for  comparisons  and 
a  strengthening  of  confidence  in  the  prices  quoted. 

Another  important  feature  not  to  be  overlooked  is  the 
fact  that  friendly  competitors  are  enabled  to  ask  questions 
of  each  other  which,  asked  by  an  unfriendly  one,  would 
be  deemed  intrusion  or  undue  curiosity.  For  one  thing, 
the  man  who  is  not  acquainted  with  his  competitor,  and 
whom  we  will  designate  as  A,  will  see  in  B's  window  a 
line  of  goods  which  he  (A)  does  not  carry  in  stock. 
From  time  to  time  he  will  notice  them,  and,  perhaps  hav- 
ing a  call  or  two  regarding  same,  will  decide  to  put  in 
a  line,  fondly  imagining  that  he  is  going  to  get  his  share 
of  that  business,  and  that  B  will  not  have  it  all.  But 
if  he  were  on  terms  of  conversation  with  B,  and  could  ask 
him  in  regard  to  the  sale  of  ^ose  goods,  he  perhaps 
would  find  that  it  was  a  dead  line  and  would  save  himself 
the  folly  of  an  investment  In  this  way  he  would  save 
many  dollars  as  the  profits  of  his  brother  jeweler's  ex- 
perience and  advice.  "A  man  to  have  friends  must  show 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


himself  friendly,"  so  a  man  who  wishes  to  learn  must  be 
also  willing  to  impart.  Business  conversation  is  not  wast- 
ing time.  Whatever  will  help  you  make  yourself  a  bet- 
ter business  man  and  to  run  your  business  better,  be  it 

-'7 

large  or  small,  is  profitable  usage  of  time.  Improving 
oneself  is  a  satisfactory  occupation  and  we  can  all  stand 
it. 

There  are  other  comparisons  equally  profitable.  Com- 
paring the  appearance  of  our  store  with  another  either 
will  encourage  us  regarding  its  condition  or  will  stimulate 
us  to  improve  its  appearance.  Then,  too,  the  habit  of 
having  records  at  hand  regarding  the  previous  year's 
business,  so  that  if  things  appear  slow,  we  can  easily 
refer  back  and  perhaps  find  that  we  have  either  made  a 
substantial  gain  or  are  still  holding  our  own,  or  that  the 
iblling  off  is  scarcely  worthy  of  notice. 

Then  another  valuable  comparison  is  that  of  goods 
bought  frwn  different  concerns.  While  the  writer  does 
not  advocate  the  judgment  of  a  concern  or  its  prices  from 
<Mic  CMT  two  articles,  yet,  if  different  houses  have  their 
different  leaders  it  is  to  oor  advantage  to  take  advantage 
of  them.  The  more  tmsiiiesslike  you  are,  the  more'  you 
are  respected  by  all  and  the  better  your  credit  will  be. 
There  are  some  things  the  small  dealer  cannot  well  emu- 
late about  his  larger  competitor,  because  of  the  e3q>en8e. 
He  cannot  take  hu-ge  spaces  in  the  newspapers  to  tell  his 
tales  of  the  wonderful  fairyland  existing  at  his  store, 
and  with  beautiful  goods,  only  waiting  for  some  one  to 
come  along  and  produce  the  medium  of  exchsmge  to  ob> 
tain  possession  of  them.  He  cannot  distribute  flowers 
and  potted  plants;  he  cannot  have  aftemoon  band  con- 
certs. But  he  can  follow  the  big  concern  in  attending 
to  customers  promptly ;  in  answering  promptly  and  cour- 
teously, out-of-town  inquiries  regarding  goods;  answer- 
ing letters  frcMn  his  creditors;  paying  bills  promptly,  if 
he  has  the  money,  or  notifying  his  creditors  when  ht 
expects  to  have  the  money. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


CHAPTER  L. 


EVILS  OF  PROCRASTINATION. 

The  Habit  of  Postponing  Jobs  of  a  Trying  Nature  is  Easy 
to  Acquire  and  Hard  to  Shake — How  This  Applies  to 
the  Jeweler— "Do  it  Now." 

(4  T3ROCRiASTINATION  is  the  thief  of  time." 
\  How  familiar  this  saying  is,  and  how  true ! 
Ajnd  yet,  how  few  there  are  who  thoroughly 
realize  it.  We  often  read  of  misquoted  proverbs,  or 
twisted  proverbs,  but  in  more  cases  the  meaning  rather 
than  the  wording  is  misunderstood  or  changed.  It  is 
an  easy  matter  for  two  men  to  read  articles,  and  each 
one  put  a  construction  on  it  differing  greatly  from  tiie 
odier.  Regarding  procrastination,  one  should  consider 
whether  his  burden  is  lessened  or  increased  by  prac- 
ticing it ;  whether  the  putting  off  to  some  more  con- 
venient time,  jobs  of  disagreeaUe  or  trying  nature,  does 
not  increase  our  load;  because,  in  addition  to  the  fii^  ac- 
comi^istoient  of  the  work,  there  also  looms  up  before 
our  mind's  eye  the  continual  vision  of  the  necessity  of 
its  accomplishment  Are  we  gainers  or  losers  by  pro- 
crastinating? The  habit  is  an  easy  one  to  acquire,  and 
a  hard  one  to  slmke.  We  hear  so  many,  when  ddkd  to 
do  a  job,  answer,  "in  a  minute."  Why  not  come  at  once. 
"In  a  minute"  is  but  die  forerunner  of  "I'll  attend  to  that 
to-morrow. 

We  should  reason  with  oursdves  thusly:  If  to-day 
we  are  so  busy  that  we  feel  like  yielding  to  the  tempta- 
tion to  put  a  few  jobs  over  until  to-morrow,  and  if  to- 
morrow may  bring  with  it  more  and  maybe  harder  wock 
to  do,  and  we  put  over  a  still  larger  amount  of  work  for 
the  second  day  following,  when,  for  goodness'  sake,  will 
we  ever  catch  up?  The  consciousness  of  tmfinished  work 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


hangs  over  one  like  Damocles'  sword,  which  we  are  told 
was  suspended  above  his  bed  by  a  single  hair  or  thread. 
•TJneasy  lies  the  bead  that  wears  a  crown,"  and  so  also 
docs  the  head  of  the  procrastinator.  There  is  no  satis- 
faction in  leaving  for  home  early,  when  we  know  full 
well  that  there  be  numerous  claimants  for  our  atten- 
tion staring  us  in  the  lace  when  we  arrive  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  haunting  us  during  the  quiet  hours  of  the  nigfat 
Such  thoughts  are  necessarily  confined  to  the  business 
man  who  has  the  wdfare  of  his  establishment  at  heait, 
and  who  cannot  forget  the  way  that  he  left  thmgs  when 
he  started  for  home  at  night 

When  we  see  how  easy  it  is  for  us  to  faU  into  the  habit 
of  ddaying  about  attending  to  affairs,  it  is  no  wonder 
that  the  writer  of  magazine  advertisements  brings  his 
eloquent  plea  to  a  close  with  a  gentle  reminder  to  "Do 
It  Now."  We  need  to  have  that  firmly  impressed  upon 
our  minds,  and  it  would  be  a  good  idea  to  have  a  agn  up 
over  our  desks  to  that  effect  The  writer  had  this  sub- 
ject suggested  to  him  by  his  own  intention  to  put  over 
work  for  another  day,  which  itook  but  ten  minutes'  time 
to  accomplish.  Once  done,  it  requires  no  further  worry 
or  thought.  Our  energies  are  ready  for  ooslau^ts  in 
other  dir^ons.  A  few  unimportant  matters  may  so 
weigh  us  down  that  our  minds  are  not  free  to  gra^  op- 
portunities or  solve  proUems  which  demand  the  very  best 
that  there  is  in  us. 

When  you  receive  a  package  of  goods  by  express,^  or 
select  from  the  traveler's  stock,  lose  no  tune  in  placmg 
these  goods  in  stock.  The  sooner  this  is  done,  the  sooner 
you  will  begin  to  sell  them.  Unopened  packages  in  your 
safe  or  drawers  filled  with  desirable  goods,  unmarked 
and  unseen,  will  fail  to  bring  even  one  dollar  to  the  till, 
but  the  same  goods,  marked  and  placed  promptly  in  the 
show-window,  may  result  in  many  sales  before  others 
have  begun  to  get  ready  to  show  the  same  lines.  Of 
course,  circumstances  alter  cases,  and  it  may  be  impos- 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


sible  to  attend  immediately  to  such  matters,  but  we 
should  make  it  a  rule  to  have  all  goods  received  marked 
and  in  stock,  within  twenty-four  hours  after  their  arrival 
in  our  store.  A  job  promised  for  to-day  should  be  got- 
ten ready  as  early  in  the  day  as  possible.  Have  your 
word  good  as  your  bond.  Disappointed  customers  mean 
dissatisfied  customers,  disgruntled  customers,  disagree- 
able customers.  By  avoiding  the  foUy  of  procrastina- 
tion, we  avoid  meedng  many  of  these  customers  of  the 
"dis"  variety. 

Then,  too,  every  store  takes  in  a  certain  amount  of 
work  which  must  be  sent  away.  Either  because  of  the 
kind  of  work,  and  the  store's  inability  successfully  to 
handle  it,  it  must  be  sent  away,  or  because  of  the  fact 
that  the  goods  are  comparatively  new,  and  must  needs 
be  sent  to  the  factory.  In  either  case,  to  ensure  its  early 
return,  prompt  action  is  necessary.  If  we  hold  the  job 
for  three  or  four  days  before  sending  it  away,  periiaps, 
in  the  meantime,  the  customer  will  have  called,  in  an  ex- 
pectant manner,  and  left  in  a  disappointed  manner. 
Then  we  will  take  the  same  time  as  would  have  been 
originally  required  to  do  the  job,  and  will  send  it  away, 
and  eventually  receive  it  back,  in  the  meantime  putting 
the  customer  off  from  day  to  day.  All  this  might  have 
been  saved  by  prompt  action  on  our  part.  Do  it  now. 
Then  it's  off  your  mind. 

You  have  a  letter  to  write,  which  will  take  consider- 
able thought  and  planning  about  its  contents.  What  do 
you  gain  by  putting  it  off?  Perhaps  the  final  recipient 
of  the  letter  is  awaiting  its  receipt  with  interest  or 
anxiety.  'Twill  take  no  longer  now  to  do  it  than  it  will 
to-morrow.  Do  it  now.  Keep  your  woric  well  in  hand 
and  under  control  Then  you  can  diivc  your  wofk,  and 
not  have  it  drive  you. 

System  is  the  cry  of  the  age,  and  it  is  well  that  it  is  so. 
The  habit  of  doing  things  in  a  systematic  manner,  once 
cultivated,  simplifies  to  a  great  extent  the  woric  of  con- 
ducting a  business,  be  it  great  or  smalL 


192  EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


If  we  could  all  come  to  a  realizing  sense  of  the  fact 
that  we  do  not  gain  anything  at  all  by  putting  off  from 
day  to  day  work  which  should  he  done  at  once,  we  will 
have  accon4:4i^ied  the  first  step  necessary  in  reducing 
the  evil  of  procrastination. 

If  you  have  to  see  a  man  on  a  disagreeable  errand,  bet- 
ter do  it  at  c»ice.  You'll  not  feel  easy  until  you  have  seen 
him.  Perhaps  the  job  will  not  prove  as  bad  as  you  an- 
ticipated. Anticipation  is  generally  greater  tiian  realiza- 
tion. Make  yourself  another  business  motto,  and  live  up 
to  it.  "Do  it  now,"  and  everything  will  move  akmg 
easier  and  better  than  before. 


EVANS'S  ESS  A  YS.  193 


CHAPTER  LI. 


FORC£  OF  EXAMPLE. 

As  Everybody's  Example  is  Followed  by  Someone,  Ours 
Should  be  Good—The  Proprietor  Should  Set  His  Em- 
ployes an  BxamiriA  of  ThorooilmMM,  Ponctnality,  Cour- 
tesy snd  Industry* 

WE  little  know  of  how  much  knportance  our  ac- 
tions are  in  influencing  others.  We  all  of  us 
have  an  influence  which  we  can  exert  for  good 
or  ill,  as  it  pleaseth  us,  but  aside  from  that  and  indepen- 
dent of  it  is  the  effect  produced  by  our  actions,  whether 
at  work  or  play.  Each  man  has  his  model  or  ideal  of 
what  he  would  like  to  become.  Sometimes  a  man  will 
make  as  excuses  for  his  own  misconduct  or  shortcom- 
ings, that  so  and  so  does  the  same  thing.  The  man 
spdcen  of  may  be  the  one  whom  he  has  chosen  as  his  par- 
ticular guiding  star  in  the  pathway  of  life.  The  man 
^loken  of  must  stand  well  in  the  community  or  he  would 
not  be  brought  up  as  citing  an  instance.  When  we  were 
attending  sdxx^,  there  were  certain  men  whom  we  inad- 
vertently selected  as  our  own  particular  heroes.  Wash- 
ington and  Lincdn  had  places  in  the  lists  of  all.  Daniel 
Webster  was  my  particular  hero,  and  yet  one  would  prob- 
ably fall  short  of  the  maik  of  perfection  were  he  to  fol- 
low Webster  in  all  things.  His  gigantic  intellect  pre- 
cludes our  following  him  into  the  r«ilms  of  oratory  and 
debate,  but  perhaps  we  could  adopt  some  of  his  failings 
easily.  We  should  take  care  that  our  examples  set  fin- 
others  to  follow  are  good  ones. 

This  applies  partioilarly  to  those  who  a]%  men  of  au- 
thority, men  who  have  others  under  them,  whether  it  be 
one  man  or  a  hundred.  The  example  of  the  boss  about 
many  things  wilt  be  watdied  and  fc^wed.  This  will  all 


194  EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


have  its  effects  on  the  store  system.  If  the  employer  ex- 
hibits signs  of  hudty  in  management,  it  will  mean  a  sim- 
ilar laxity  on  the  part  of  each  employe,  thereby  greatly 
diminish^  the  efficiency  of  the  store  for  trade-winning 
and  trade-holding.  The  personality  of  each  employe  of 
a  store  reflects  to  the  public  outside  the  diaracter  of 
the  store.  A  store  well  kept  up,  and  wdl  conducted,  will 
have  a  large  percentag-e  of  its  trade  because  of  Ae  con- 
fidence customers  feel  in  the  store,  and  because  of  Ac 
worth  of  the  store's  name  on  the  box  or  case  given  with 
the  article  purchased.  Some  people  trade  at  one  partic- 
ular store  because  they  believe  they  can  buy  cheaper 
there,  but  most  people  trade  at  a  store  because  of  good 
treatment  and  confidence.  We  should  cater  to  the  latter 
class  because  they  merely  wish  to  receive  value  received 
for  their  money,  and  expect  that  one  will  make  a  profit 
oa  the  transaction. 

Let  us  illustrate  the  power  of  example  of  an  employer 
to  his  employes.  The  boss  is  seated  at  the  bench  when  a 
customer  enters.  Perhaps  he  turns  around  to  see  who 
came  in,  or  perhaps  he  glances  into  the  glass  in  front  of 
him.  In  either  case  he  continues  at  his  work,  leaving  the 
customer  standing  awaiting  his  pleasure.  Perhaps  his 
discourtesy  to  the  customer  leaves  the  latter  time  to  think 
about  it,  and  when  the  jeweler  gets  around  to  waiting 
upon  him,  instead  of  asking  to  see  the  article  he  intended 
to  he  will  make  some  trifling  inquiry  and  leave,  going  at 
once  to  another  store.  Granted  that  the  jeweler  could 
not  immediately  leave  the  work  which  he  was  doing,  he 
should  either  call  another  clerk,  or  ask  the  customer^  to 
please  wait  a  minute  or  two,  when  he  will  wait  on  him. 
Clerks  notice  how  the  proprietor  attends  to  customers 
and  easily  adapt  themselves  to  his  methods.  So,  we  find 
some  stores,  that  if  a  customer  enters,  he  may  have  to 
wait  until  a  clerk  finishes  a  conversation  with  a  friend  or 
one  of  the  other  clerks,  before  he  can  be  attended  to. 
The  writer,  not  long  since,  stood  in  a  store  witfi  Arec 
Others  ahead  of  him,  waiting  for  the  derk  to  fini^  a  coo- 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS.  igS 


versation  over  the  telephone,  which  conversation  was  of 
a  personal  nature  and  could  have  been  finished  later. 

Then  again,  a  proprietor,  manager,  or  foreman,  who 
is  thoroughly  in  earnest,  and  who  places  a  time  limit 
upon  himself  for  arriving  at  the  store,  for  leaving  the 
same,  and  the  length  of  time  he  will  take  for  meals,  and 
living  up  to  the  same,  will  encourage  the  same  habits  of 
diligence  among  his  employes.  Few  employes  there  are 
who  will  take  more  from  their  employer  in  the  way  of 
absences  from  the  store,  than  he  allows  himself,  because, 
for  very  shame's  sake,  if  for  no  other  worthier  motive, 
they  will  keep  pace  with  him.  Then,  too,  clerks  serve 
more  faithfully  the  man  who  is  faithful  to  his  own  in- 
terests, because  of  the  fact  that  he  knows  how  they  are 
working;  knows  just  who  are  most  faithful  to  his  inter- 
ests, and  whom  he  should  promote  when  there  is  oppor- 
tunity to  do  so. 

It  is  a  good  deal  more  satisfactory  for  store  help  to 
hear  the  proprietor  say,  "Come  boys,  let's  clean  up,  to- 
day," rather  than  "Get  at  this  job,  and  see  how  quick  you 
can  get  it  done."  A  hard  working  boss  can  accomplish 
more  and  get  more  out  of  his  help  than  a  hard  driving 
boss.  Therefore  a  man  who  wishes  his  help^  to  live  up 
to  certain  rules  must  himself  adopt  the  same  code.  If  he 
wishes  them  to  be  on  hand  promptly  in  the  morning,  let 
him  be  as  prompt.  Whether  he  gets  down  as  early  as 
they  or  not,  the  time  he  sets  should  be  lived  up  to.  If 
he  wishes  them  to  be  truthful,  he  should  be  so  also.  And 
so  we  might  go  through  the  list  of  necessary  qualifica- 
tions for  business  success.  It  has  been  well  said,  "If  you 
wish  a  thing  done,  send  some  one,  and  if  you  wish  it 
done  well,  do  it  yourself."  If  a  man  does  not  do  the 
work  in  his  own  store,  he  should  know  whether  a  job  is 
done  right  or  not.  It  is  not  necessary  that  he  look  over 
every  job  every  night,  but  he  should  occasionally  do  this, 
as  it  will  encourage  the  hatnt  of  thoroughness  among  his 
help.  In  all  factories  inspectors  of  the  woik  are  neces- 
sary. This  is  realized  thoroughly,  and  men  are  wdl  pai4 
for  doing  nothing  else. 


196  EVANS'S  ESS  A  YS. 


CHAPTER  LII. 


MAKING  A  SALB8MAN. 

Some  Interesting  Thoughts  Regarding  the  Qualifications 
Necessary  for  Success  in  Selling  Goods— Experience, 
Study  and  Tact  WiU  Help  the  Salesman  Materially  To- 
ward Success. 

^  J  TQ  QETS  are  bora,  not  made/'   Salesmen  may 
happen  in  the  same  way.    Some  men  and 

boys  are  certainly  bom  salesmen,  because 
they  are  able,  without  special  preparation  of  any  kind, 
without  educational  or  conversational  ac(iuircments,  with- 
out knowledge  of  men  or  affairs,  to  sell  i;oods.  Such 
salesmen  are  born  such,  but  there  is  a  question  whether 
salesmen  of  this  type  ever  rise  to  any  important  position. 
In  this  day  we  hear  many  arc]^umcnts,  pro  and  con,  re- 
garding the  value  of  a  college  education  to  one  who 
expects  to  engage  in  business,  but  it  seems  to  me  that, 
all  other  things  being  equal,  natural  abilities,  habits 
and  so  on,  the  man  who  is  the  best  educated  will  win  out 
easily.  Each  man  may  know  just  as  much  about  the  im- 
mediate business  in  which  he  is  engaged  as  does  his  com- 
petitor, but  Ithat  is  not  the  whole  of  it.  Tn  calling  upon 
trade,  or  in  conversing  across  the  counter  in  the  retail 
jewelry  store,  much  conversation  must  be  carried  on 
which  is  of  a  desultory  character.  Topics  of  the  day  are 
discussed  by  customers  in  a  store,  and  one  should  be  able 
to  express  himself  intelligently  on  them.  If  one  does  not 
appear  to  wish  to  talk  except  about  his  own  business  and 
what  he  has  for  sale,  many  customers  will  feel  that  your 
intercst  in  them  is  only  so  far  as  you  expect  to  get  money 
from  them.  We  are  all  of  us  after  the  ahnighty  dollar, 
but  we  should  be  able  to  look  further  than  the  end  of  our 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


197 


noses  to  obtain  it.  We  should  all  of  us  exert  ourselves 
to  create  and  maintain  a  favorable  impression  with  all 
who  meet  us,  even  in  an  informal  way.  We  little  know 
when  we  will  need  a  good  word  spoken  for  us,  or  who 
among  our  friends  and  customers  may  be  the  first  to  have 
the  opportunity  to  speak  it.  That  man  who  was  in  your 
store  to-day,  and  acted  as  though  he  thought  all  jewelers 
were  highwaymen  in  their  charges,  may,  after  leaving 
your  store,  converse  with  a  man  who  perhaps  has  been  in 
your  store,  but  who  has  never  spent  a  cent  in  it,  but  has 
formed  a  good  opinion  of  you  from  general  conversation 
wfth  you.  Because  of  this  favorable  c^nion,  he  is  able 
to  put  the  intending  buyer  in  the  proper  frame  of  mind 
to  again  call  upon  you,  and  then  you  are  able  to  complete 
the  job  which  you  set  out  to  do  in  the  first  place. 

There  is  one  way  in  which  all  of  us  can  improve  our- 
selves, and  by  such  improvement  make  ourselves  better 
salesmen.  That  is  to  have  a  better  knowledge  of  our 
goods ;  the  ability  to  distinguish  qualities,  and  to  be  able 
to  point  out  differences  in  goods,  which  will  account  for 
differences  in  prices.  Then,  too,  if  we  are  familiar  with 
the  goods,  we  will  be  able  to  answer  questions  asked  by 
inquisitive  people  who  wish  to  know  what  they  are  buy- 
ing. Then,  one  can  also  talk  in  such  a  clear,  concise 
manner  that  many  questions  will  be  unnecessary.  How 
cheap  it  makes  one  feel  to  be  a^ed  questions  regarding 
one's  own  goods  which  one  cannot  answer.  Granted, 
thai  many  people  will  ask  fool  questions  which  no  one 
can  answer,  all  questions  are  not  of  that  character,  and 
of  whatever  kind  they  are  they  should  be  answered  ac- 
cordingly. 

Then,  again,  some  customers  have  very  little  to  offer 
in  the  way  of  conversation  when  looking  at  goods.  This, 
then,  makes  it  necessary  for  the  salesman  to  know  when 
to  talk,  and  when  not'  to.  It  is  an  easy  matter,  compara- 
tively, to  maintain  a  discreet  silence,  while  a  customer  is 
talking,  but  he  is  wise  indeed,  who  knows  when  to  main- 
tam  sSence,  and  give  the  customer  time  to  meditate. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


Then  again,  one  should  not  try  to  force  his  opinion  as 
to  just  which  article  is  the  prettiest,  because,  he  may  not 
strflce  the  one  which  the  customer  has  inwardly  decided 
upon.  In  conyersalion  with  a  cut-glass  salesman  lately, 
the  topic  of  varying  tastes  was  introduced,  and  he  said, 
thait  he  had  found  tastes  to  differ  to  such  a  degree  that, 
when  showing  his  line  now,  he  never  singles  out  any  par- 
ticular piece  to  speak  of  its  beauty,  but  speaks  in  general 
terms  regarding  the  entire  line.  This,  he  said  he  had 
found  to  be  the  best  method,  as  perhaps  his  taste  would 
differ  so  much  from  his  customer's,  that  the  latter  might 
think  he  was  trying  to  unload  upon  him  undesirable  pat- 
terns, or  goods  which  bad  not  sold  as  well  as  others. 
Sometimes,  however,  if  one  can  notice  a  customer  lean- 
ing toward  one  particular  article,  and  can  say  just  the 
right  word,  the  sale  is  consummated. 

One  should  endeavor  at  all  times  to  improve  himsdf.' 
We  are  told  that  it  is  impossible  to  stand  sdll.   We  must 
either  advance  or  re'treat.   None  of  us  wish  to  go  badc- 
ward.   We  all  wish  to  earn  more  money  rather  tiban  less. 

Whether  we  work  for  ourselves  or  for  others,  we  must 
use  aU  posaiMe  means  for  develc^ing  oor  selling  powers. 
The  power  of  convincing  a  customer  as  to  the  several 
reasons  why  it  is  to  his  interest  to  purchase  at  your  store 
in  preference  to  others.  Our  persuasive  powers  can  also 
be  developed.  The  same  methods  which  make  the  suc- 
cessful politician  can  be  emulated  by  the  seeker  after  suc- 
cess in  the  business  world.  Do  not  antagonize  a  cus- 
tomer. Make  him  to  see  things  in  your  light,  through 
persuasion  rather  than  argument 

While  correspondence  courses  are  now  offered  in  every 
line  oi  wofk,  including  salesmanship,  yet  experience  is 
the  best  teacher  after  all.  But  we  can  adl  of  us  profitaUy 
spend  a  half -hour  weekly,  perusing  the  trade  papers 
which  come,  t<^;ether  with  other  business  and  advertisii^ 
magazines.  Whether  you  can  agree  with  all  the  state- 
menits  made  in  the  articles  does  not  matter.  It  makes 
you  tlunk  to  read  aiticks  relating  to  your  business,  and 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS.  199 


the  more  you  think  the  more  apt  you  are  to  improve 
yourself  along  the  lines  which  promise  most  to  you  in 
the  way  of  financial  returns.  Some  men  are  satisfied  to 
run  a  little  store,  which  shows  no  signs  of  improvement 
as  the  years  go  by.  They  are  satisfied  with  a  small  in- 
come, believing  that  the  difference  is  made  up  in  being 
one's  own  boss.  Not  so,  however,  the  progressive  mer- 
chant. He  is  working  each  day  with  interest,  with  en- 
thusiasm, and  with  industry,  trying  to  make  each  week, 
each  month,  and  each  year,  surpass  in  financial  returns 
the  similar  periods  in  years  that  are  past.  Progress  and 
improvement  are  the  watch  cry  of  the  age,  and  one  must 
either  keep  abreast  of  the  times,  or  he  soon  becomes  a 
"has-been"  in  the  business  world. 


200  EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


CHAPTER  LIII. 


THE  PROPER  USE  OF  TIME. 

If  '^ime  is  Moaty,"  We  Should  be  If ort  Carcfol  of  Our 
Expenditure  of  Time— SfttematiM  Your  Days  as  Much 
as  Possible— Derote  Some  Time  to  Mesding  and  80019 
to  Rdaamtioii. 

^Xnr^IME  is  money."  We  hear  this  quotation  often, 
I  and  doubtless  each  of  us  has  used  it  on  more 
than  one  occasion.  The  expression  is  all  right. 
Although  used  so  frequently,  it  is  doubtful  if  we  realize 
that  it  is  as  true  as  anything  can  be.  Time  Is  money  to 
the  man  who  as  busy,  and  is  anxious  to  learn  and  im- 
prove himself  Time  is  money  to  the  business  man  and 
to  the  professional  man.  Time  is  money  to  the  labor- 
ing man,  even  more  so  than  to  any  of  the  others.  The 
late  Speaker  Reed  once  brought  out  this  trutli  in  a 
political  address,  when  he  said  that  a  laboring  man  must 
sell  to-day's  labor  to-day,  or  it  is  forever  lost.  It  is  dif- 
ferent with  the  business  or  professional  man,  because  if 
he  loses  a  day,  perhaps  the  next  day  will  be  so  much  bet- 
ter than  the  average  that  the  lost  day  will  be  made  up. 
But  we  should  consider  the  fact  that  he  who  accomplishes 
most  in  life  is  he  who  is  the  busiest.  We  often  hear  it 
said  that  if  you  want  a  thing  attended  to,  get  a  busy  man 
to  do  it,  because  of  the  very  fact  that  he  is  so  busy  he 
must  so  phm  his  time  that  he  has  time  for  doing  every- 
Mng  he  undertakes  to  do,  whereas,  the  man  with  little 
on  his  mind  develope  the  bad  habit  of  slackness,  an  l 
therefore  docs  not  attend  to  the  little  which  he  has  to  do. 

If  we  realize  that  time  is  money,  we  will  become  more 
careful  in  our  expenditure  of  time.  We  generally  give 
some  thought  to  our  expenditure  of  money,  because  our 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS.  201 


resources  of  that  character  are  limited,  but  of  our  time, 
of  which  each  is  given  the  same  amount,  we  are  careless 
in  the  extreme.  The  story  has  been  told  of  one  of  our 
American  humorists,  who  had  stopped  at  a  hotel  for  sev- 
eral days,  and  when  his  bill  was  presented  to  him,  he  in- 
formed the  proprietor  that  he  was  out  of  funds,  but  that, 
as  time  was  money,  and  he  had  plenty  of  time,  he  would 
willingly  stay  at  the  hotel  as  many  days  as  the  proprietor 
thought  wouid  reimburse  him  for  the  bill.  In  an  instance 
of  that  kind,  time  is  not  the  same  as  money. 

How  many  people  are  there  connected  with  the  jewelry 
business  who  are  trying,  in  any  manner,  to  make  them- 
selves better  business  men  and  betted  educated  men  than 
they  have  been?  How  many  of  us  take  the  necessary 
amount  of  outdoor  air  and  exercise  which  we  should 
in  order  to  keep  ourselves  in  good  shape.  We  have 
been  informed  by  Osier  that  a  man  is  a  has-been  at 
40,  and  should  be  chloroformed  at  60.  There  have  been 
numerous  arguments  as  a  result  of  the  assertions,  and 
many  instances  have  been  cited  to  show  that  men  well 
advanced  in  years,  many  of  them  over  80,  have  been  a 
power  in  the  world  of  business,  finance  and  politics.  Nev- 
ertheless, it  seems  to  me  that  while  a  man  accomplishes 
most  peiiiaps  after  the  age  of  40,  and  he  has  not  until 
then  reached  a  point  where,  from  past  experience  and  long 
study,  he  is  qualified  to  give  advice  and  lead  great  move- 
ments, yet  he  must  have  prepared  himself  for  all  this  in 
the  years  and  years  previous.  If  we  expect  to  accom- 
plish anything  in  this  life,  let's  get  about  it  now. 

We  should  endeavor  to  divide  our  time  in  a  proper 
manner,  setting  aside  a  certain  portion  of  -each  day  for 
reading  and  a  certain  part  for  exercise,  and  a  certain  part 
for  being  at  home  or  attending  the  theatre  or  other  place 
of  amusement  with  our  families.  Reading  is  necessary, 
as  a  man  penned  up  in  a  little  store  by  himself  becomes 
narrow,  and  he  needs  to  read  of  the  outside  world  and  its 
dmngs,  because  it  broadens  him  out  and  shows  him  that 


202 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


he  is  but  a  small  atom  in  this  whirling  mass  of  human 
beings.  There  is  a  time  for  everything,  if  we  have  sys- 
tem about  our  work.  A  man  should  work  while  he  does 
work,  and  when  he  is  away  from  work  forget  it  for  the 
time  being. 

There  are  courses  of  reading  such  as  the  University 
Extension  and  like  courses,  which  suggest  certain  lines 
which  one  may  read,  and  pursue  an  intelligent  course  of 
reading.  These,  together  with  our  great  public  libraries, 
our  Y.  M.  C.  A.'s,  our  churches,  our  fraternities  and  our 
clubs,  all  offer  means  of  relaxation  from  the  cares  of  busi- 
ness, an^  while  we  are  taking  a  needed  change,  we  are 
also  helping  ourselves  and  others. 

We  sometimes  hear  small  business  men  say  that  they 
cannot  spare  time  from  their  business  to  take  this  trip  or 
that,  or  attend  a  conventicm,  or  anything  at  all  which  will 
take  them  from  their  stores.  Such  men  should  read  of 
the  journeys  of  a  man  like  J.  P.  Morgan,  whom  all  rec- 
ognize as  a  leader  and  a  power  in  £e  financial  world. 
We  read  of  his  trips  abroad  and  of  his  purdiaset  of  this 
or  that;  now  a  painting,  and  again  some  novelty  in  the 
way  of  bric-a-brac,  which  perhaps  he  presents  to  some 
museum  of  art  This  merely  illustrates  that  a  man  needs 
relaxation  of  his  mind.  The  buying  of  such  articles 
forms  a  pastime  with  him.  Men  of  this  class  return  to 
their  labors  with  renewed  vigor  and  renewed  enthusiasm. 
We  who  from  force  of  circumstances  are  compelled  to 
keep  to  work  day  in  and  day  out  should  devise  methods 
for  giving  us  needed  change,  without  taking  expensive 
trips.  The  world  moves  and  we  should  move  with  it. 
We  hear  nowadays  that  young  folks  expect  to  start  in 
where  their  parents  leave  off,  and  also  that  what  were 
luxuries  years  ago  are  necessities  now.  A  few  years  ago 
houses  equipped  with  modem  improvements  were  her- 
alded as  such  in  newspaper  advertisements,  but  now  it 
is  unnecessary  to  speak  of  it  People  are  educated  now 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


203 


to  expect  these  improvements,  and  houses  go  slow  whidi 
are  not  so  equipped. 

Our  own  business  is  constantly  advancing,  and  jewelers 
everywhere  are  striving  to  secure  advantages  over  their 
competitors  by  having  the  best  possible  fixtures,  and  the 
finest  window  arrangement  and  display  of  which  they 
are  capable.  All  this  makes  it  necessary  that  you,  and 
each  of  you,  shall  be  up  and  doing.  "Hitch  your  wagon 
to  a  star."  Strive  after  great  things.  Wish  for  them. 
Expect  them.  But  while  you  do  these  things,  endeavor 
to  improve  yourself  along  the  lines  which  count  for  most 
in  obtaining  this  world's  happiness.  Success  obtained  by 
the  forfeiture  of  the  ability  to  enjoy  oneself  is  failure. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


CHAPTER  UV. 


TACT  AND  DIPLOMACY. 

A  Soft  Answer  Turns  Away  Wrath— Do  Not  Make  Sarcastic 
Remarks— Do  Not  Discourage  "Lookers"  lor  Looking 
Always  Precedes  Buying— Tlie  Handling  and  Adjusting 
ol  Complaints. 

THE  handliiiij  of  customers  in  a  retail  jewelry  store 
is  a  fine  art.  A  great  deal  of  tact  and  diplomacy 
is  needed,  and  he  who  possesses  these  in  the 
greatest  degree  will  achieve  the  greatest  possible  suc- 
cess. A  man  may  be  a  born  diplomat,  but  if  not  he  can 
train  himself  so  that  he  will  become  one.  Of  course  it 
is  a  hard  matter  of  fact  to  make  a  diplomatic  reply  to  a 
remark  which  would  ordinarily  be  met  with  a  sharp  an- 
swer, but  one  can  become  accustomed  to  giving  a  concili- 
atory reply.  "A  soft  answer  turneth  away  wrath,"  and 
if  one  can  become  habited  to  making  a  conciliatory  an- 
swer to  remarks,  he  will  find  that  he  will  save  himself 
a  great  deal  of  annoyance,  and  also  save  the  possible  loss 
of  a  customer.  Some  people  consider  themselves  rather 
facetious  or  humorous,  and  make  remarks  for  fun  which 
they  do  not  really  mean.  Of  course,  it  is  a  difficult  mat- 
ter to  sort  these  things  out,  and  to  be  able  to  discrimi- 
nate between  the  intentional  insult  and  the  jocular  one. 

Then,  too,  a  jeweler  is  apt  to  get  bright,  and  talk  in  a 
manner  which,  while  it  will  demonstrate  that  he  is  a 
witty  fellow,  will  not  sell  goods.  Then  there  are  people 
who,  while  ever  ready  to  crack  a  joke  at  s<Mne  one  else's 
expense,  can  never  see  one  which  applies  to  them.  A 
jeweler  or  other  storekeeper  will  do  well  therefore,  to 
confine  his  remarks  to*  business,  to  descriptions  of  his 
goods  and  their  many  excellencies,  of  course  being  able 
to  carry  on  his  end  of  the  conversation  <mi  other  subjects, 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


20$ 


but  ever  remembering  that  he  is  where  he  is  to  sell  goods, 
and  minister  to  the  other  wants  of  his  patrons  where 
they  coincide  with  his  abilities  to  do  so. 

An  article  in  one  of  the  trade  papers  speaks  of  the 
fact  that  many  jewelers  dislike  to  show  goods  where 
there  is  ho  immediate  evidence  of  a  forthcoming  sale, 
and  treat  such  lookers  cavalierly.  No  matter  how  long 
some  men  will  conduct  a  store,  they  never  seem  to  realize 
the  axiom  that  "looking  always  precedes  buying,"  and 
while  we  all  like  to  see  buying  immediately  follow  in  all 
cases,  this  is  not  possible,  because  many  people  will  start 
out  on  an  afternoon's  shopping  tour,  without  a  cent  in 
their  pockets,  excepting  car  fare  home,  and  while  many 
storekeepers  denominate  such  people  as  "lookers"  only, 
and  condemn  them,  still,  if  we  will  notice,  we  will  see 
that  such  people  are  possessed  of  nearly  everything  that's 
going,  which  shows  that  either  they  do  sometimes  buy 
something,  or  else  that  they  make  their  wants  known  to 
those  who  do  the  buying.  In  either  case,  it  demonstrates 
that  the  jewelers  should  use  tact  in  handling  such  people. 

A  favorable  impression  made  by  the  goods  and  the 
prices  can  be  entirely  obliterated  by  some  remark  made 
by  the  jeweler,  because  the  customers  are  leaving  with- 
out purchasing.  Have  everyone  leave  your  store  in  a 
satisfactory  frame  of  mind.  You  have  spent  your  time 
in  showing  the  goods,  then  do  not  undo  the  work  by  a 
remark  such  as  the  writer  heard  was  made  in  one  jew- 
elry store.  A  lady  had  called  on  several  occasions  at  a 
certain  store,  and  each  time  called  for  articles  which 
either  the  jeweler  did  not  keep,  or  his  stock  did  not  offer 
sufficient  selection  to  suit  licr.  When  leaving  upon  her 
last  visit  to  the  store,  the  jeweler  told  her  that  perhaps 
it  would  be  as  well  if  she  did  not  come  in  again,  as  he 
never  seemed  to  have  what  she  wanted,  and  she  appeared 
to  be  so  hard  to  suit.  His  wish  was  complied  with.  But 
he  made  a  business  error,  as  well  as  acted  in  an  ungen- 
tlemanly  manner.   When  any  one  enters  your  store  to 


206 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


look  at  goods,  it  is  because  of  a  favorable  opinicm  of  you 
and  your  goods.  That  this  is  so,  none  can  disprove,  be- 
cause it  is  other  because  they  are  considering  making  a 
purchase  from  you,  or  else  ^ey  wish  to  make  compari- 
sons between  your  goods  and  some  others.  Either  way, 
it  shows  that  they  consider  your  store  a  store  of  satisfac- 
tion, and  an  effort  ^ould  be  made  to  so  handle  such 
callers  that  a  good  impression  is  made,  so  that  they  will 
feel  friendly  to  your  store,  and  a  sale  may  result  at  that 
time  or  in  the  future. 

Then  again,  when  we  hear  people  condemn  another 
jeweler,  if  our  own  judgment  does  not  tell  us  to  main- 
tain a  discreet  silence,  or  explain  away  any  wrong  im- 
pression which  the  customer  has  which  is  unfavorable  to 
our  competitors,  our  tact  should  tell  us  that  it  is  a  ^ood 
chance  to  make  an  impression  upon  our  caller  for  fair 
mindedness,  and  a  desire  for  fair  play.  People  gfravitate 
back  and  forth  from  one  store  to  another,  and  in  the 
course  of  time  repeat  different  remarks  heard  in  other 
stores.  Now  why  not  cultivate  the  habit  of  speaking 
well  of  everybody.  It  is  not  necessary  to  lay  it  on  too 
thick. 

Then  again  tact  is  needed  in  handling  and  adjusting 
complaints.  It  is  needless  to  say.  that  most  of  the  com- 
plaints in  a  jewelry  store  are  both  trivial  and  unjust. 
But  in  disposing  of  them,  we  should  consider  the  time 
it  will  take  to  do  the  job  and  the  length  of  time  it  will 
take  to  argue  about  it.  In  most  cases  the  easiest  and 
quickest  way  to  dispose  of  such  complaints  is  to  tell  the 
customer  to  leave  it  and  you  will  see  that  it  is  all  right. 
This  does  not  mean  to  allow  oneself  to  be  imposed  upon. 

Tact  is  also  necessary  in  the  handling  of  the  credit  de- 
partment of  a  business.  Some  people  you  are  perfectly 
willing  to  trust,  and  if  so  do  it,  but  if  it  is  your  intention 
to  extend  credit  do  not  quibble  about  it.  Then,  too,  if 
you  do  not  wish  to  give  credit,  it  can  be  refused  without 
telling  the  customer  that  you  do  not  think  he  would  pay. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS.  207 


Business  is  business,  and  no  man  will  take  o£Fence  at  a 
refusal  of  credit,  if  it  is  put  to  him  in  proper  shape. 
There  should  never  be  any  hesitation,  however,  in  one's 
answer.  If  you  are  in  doubt  whether  or  not  to  trust 
a  man,  it  is  a  safe  rule  to  follow,  not  to  trust  him. 

Some  people  maintain  that  they  admire  a  man  who 
alwa3rs  says  what  he  thinks.  This  may  be  true  when  he 
thinlu  of  some  one  besides  ourselves.  Tact  realizes  that 
it  is  not  necessary  to  tell  all  we  know  or  think  about  any- 
tliing  or  anybody.  Remember  that  we  are  here  for  bus- 
iness, and  should  try  to  adopt  such  means  and  methods 
as  will  tend  to  build  up  our  business. 


2o8  EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


CHAPTER  UV. 

CULTIVATE  A  SPIRIT  OF  CONTENTMENT. 

How  Our  Neighbor's  Condition  Seems  So  Much  Better 
Than  Our  Own — If  We  Knew  All  the  Facts  Perhaps  It 
Would  Seem  Different— A  Plea  for  "the  Simple  Life"— 
Advantages  of  the  Retail  Jewelry  Business. 

THE  other  fellow's  job  generally  appears  more  de- 
sirable than  our  own.    It  seems  as  though  things 

come  his  way  without  especial  effort.  While 

there  are  many  of  our  friends  whom  we  consider  more 
fortunate  than  ourselves  in  the  selection  of  a  calling,  still 
we  all  know  that  to  the  average  person  the  jeweler 
represents  a  wealthy  personage,  and  so  we  will  find 
that  there  are  many  who  think  that  we  are  in  an  en- 
viable situation.     People  take  it  for  granted  that,  in- 
asmuch as  jewelry  is  to  them  an  article  of  luxury, 
and  only  indulged  in  with  spare  cash,  therefore,  he  who 
engages  in  the  sale  and  repair  of  such  goods  must  be 
surely  possessed  of  great  wealth,  or  at  least  of  a  compe- 
tence.   Many  jewelers  will  smile  when  they  think  that 
people  speak  of  them  in  this  way,  but  it  is  certainly  true. 
Each  knows  the  drawbacks  ajid  disadvantages  of  his 
own  business,  and,  seeing  others  apparently  care-free, 
while  he  is  careworn,,  he  tiiinks  that  the  fortunes  of  war 
are  against  him.   We  know  that  it  is  natural  to  speak 
encouragingly  about  our  business  or  our  positions,  and 
that  each  one  puts  his  best  foot  iorwzTd,  according  to 
the  old  saying.   We  have  all  stood  in  one  field  or  pas- 
ture, and  noticed  the  scanty  growth  of  v^fetation,  while 
in  the  adjoining  acreage  there  is  evidence  of  a  luxuriant 
growth,  but  it  only  takes  a  hundred  yards  walk,  and  the 
climbing  of  a  fence,  to  discover  that  the  second  is  like 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


209 


unio  the  first,  and  that  to  our  eyes,  then,  the  first  pasture 
will  appear  to  be  the  most  desirable. 

Half  the  world  does  not  know  how  the  other  half  lives. 
Perhaps  if  we  did  we  would  not  be  so  envious  of  other 
people  and  their  positions.  People  do  a  great  deal  some- 
times to  keep  up  appearances,  and  do  as  others  do,  when 
they  cannot  really  afford  it.  Others,  seeing  them,  think 
that  they  must  have  had  some  money  left  to  them,  or  else 
Smith  has  had  his  pay  raised,  or  he  is  doing  more  busi- 
ness. In  order  to  keep  up  with  them,  others  go  the  limit 
of  their  credit  and  pocketbooks,  and  then  results  a  num- 
ber of  dissatisfied  and  unhappy  people;  dissatisfied,  be- 
cause they  imagine  that  what  costs  them  a  great  effort 
is  handled  with  ease  by  their  friends;  tmhappy,  because 
of  their  unpaid  bills.  If  people  were  true  to  themselves, 
there  would  be  less  of  this  waste  of  money,  and  a  feding 
that  other  folks  are  better  situated  than  oursdves. 

"Contentment  is  better  than  great  riches,"  and  is  a  for- 
tune in  itsdf.  "Know  then,  diyself."  Study  yourself 
and  your  store.  Strive  tot  improvement  Have  your 
store  looking  welL  Make  such  changes  as  you  can  at 
little  or  no  expense.  Improvement  does  not  necessarily 
mean  throwing  out  Jrour  fixtures  and  buying  new.  There 
are  numy  little  things  one  can  do  to  improve  his  condi- 
ti(Mi.  If  your  competitor  appears  to  be  more  successful 
than  you  are,  study  his  methods.  Remember  that  the 
number  of  people  who  enter  a  store  does  not  show  the 
amount  of  business  done.  Neither  does  the  mere  state- 
ment made  by  a  competitor.  Some  people  would  make 
a  bluff  in  any  kind  of  a  game,  even  in  the  game  of  busi- 
ness, and  right  here  let  me  say,  that  it  pays  to  put  on  a 
good  front.  Make  people  believe  that  you  are  doing  a 
good  business.  You  cannot  always  size  up  the  number 
of  sales-  your  competitor  makes  from  the  number  which 
you  lose.  Many  people  are  chronic  "lookers,"  or  love  to 
contemplate  awhile  before  making  the  final  decisk»  to 
buy.   Many  others,  lacking  confidence  in  dietr  own 


2IO 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


judgment,  will  spend  time  running  to  this  store  and  that, 
and  thinking  between  whiles.  Give  them  something  to 
think  about.  Make  remarks  which  mean  something, 
and  which  illustrate  your  familiarity  with  the  goods 
which  you  sell.  Be  satisfied  with  your  present  situation, 
but  work  to  improve  your  business  and  your  surround- 
ings. There  is  a  vast  diflFerence  between  discontent  and 
ambition.  The  man  who  is  merely  discontented  with  his 
position  in  life  accomplishes  but  little.  But  he  who  is 
satisfied  with  his  position, — ^until  he  can  do  better — and 
who  strives  to  be  worthy  of  greater  success,  he  it  is  who 
generally  accomplishes  something  in  the  world  of  busi- 
ness. There  is  danger,  however,  in  self-satisfaction; 
danger  of  falling  into  a  rut,  from  which  it  is  almost  im- 
possible to  extricate  one's  self.  The  advice,  "if  you 
can't  be  easy,  be  as  easy  as  you  can,"  is  suggestive  of  the 
advice,  "if  you  cannot  be  successful,  be  as  successful  as 
you  can."  And  so,  when  we  think  of  the  other  fellow 
and  his  job,  let's  remember  that  all  is  not  sunshine  along 
his  pathway,  and  also,  that  he  who  wins  the  greatest 
measure  of  success  generally  is  worthy  of  it.  Once  in 
a  while  we  see  dishonest  men  apparently  succeed,  but 
such  success  is  generally  but  temporary,  and  if  lasting  is 
obtained  by  a  forfeiture  of  those  things  which  go  the 
furthest  toward  making  this  life  worth  the  living.  So, 
if  the  other  fellow  makes  more  money  than  we  do,  per- 
haps he  does  not  obtain  as  much  satis&urtion  therefrofn 
as  you,  yourself,  from  what  you  have. 

One  should  cultivate  the  habit  of  enjoying  cmeself,  of 
relaxing  our  minds  and  bodies ;  of  forgetting,  as  it  were, 
the  fact  that  we  are  business  men.  The  man  who  be- 
comes so  wrapped  up  in  his  business,  or  enlarges  his  bus- 
iness to  such  an  extent  that  he  cannot  forget  about  it  for 
a  moment,  or  dare  not  be  away  from  it  for  fear  of  pe- 
cuniary loss,  does  not  enjoy  himself;  is  not  happy. 
Whilst  he  is  earning  the  money,  his  family  perhaps  have 
developed  the  spending  habit,  and  are  able  to  eojoy 
themselves,  but  he  cannot 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS.  211 


Then  do  not  let  us  envy  our  many  millionaires  because 
of  their  plenty.  Wealth  itself  has  its  drawbacks.  Every 
man's  hand  is  raised  against  you,  and  who  can  you  call 
your  friend?  The  jeweler,  after  all,  is  pleasantly  situ- 
ated. He  is  in  a  business  which  is  nice  and  clean ;  where 
it  is  a  pleasure  to  work ;  where  he  can  earn  money  doing 
repairing,  during  the  intermission  between  customers; 
where  he  is  not  so  driven  but  that  he  can  make  occasional 
trips  into  the  country  in  summer,  and  to  the  theatre  in 
winter.  He  is  also  at  home,  where  he  meets  his  family 
daily,  and  where  he  is  near  his  friends.  There  are  many 
businesses  where  more  money  is  made  than  in  the  jew- 
elry business,  but  there  are  none  more  congenial,  or 
where  a  man  is  better  able  to  develop  his  best  side,  if 
he  so  desires. 


212 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


CHAPTER  LVI. 


POINTERS  ABOUT  STOREKEEPING. 

Be  Alive,  Act  Busy,  Don't  Lag,  Be  Independent,  Be  Syste- 
matic, Be  Thorough,  Be  Sober,  Be  Truthlul,  Be  Honest* 
Be  the  Best  Business  Man  You  Can. 

BE  alive.  If  you  are  conducting  a  jewelry  store, 
be  alive.  The  time  has  gone  by,  long  years  ago, 
when  a  man  merely  opened  a  store  and  waited 
the  arrival  of  customers  confidently,  ibut  occasionally  was 
disappointed.  That  was  in  the  "good  old  times"  when 
no  one  advertised  and  everybody  stood  equal.  It  was 
also  in  the  primitive  days  of  store  window  displays.  To- 
day, a  man  opening  up  a  store  must  work  harder  than  at 
any  previous  time  to  obtain  and  maintain  his  business. 
Each  individual  storekeeper  is  alive,  and  is  hustling  all 
the  time  to  hold  his  own  customers,  and  incidentally  to 
take  yours,  because  each  wishes  to  have  his  business  in- 
crease year  after  year,  and  no  one  considers  wliere  this 
increase  is  to  come  from.  If  you  are  increasing  your 
business,  you  are  perhaps  gaining  ground  in  your  com- 
petitor's country.  To-day,  no  man  can  count  his  cus- 
tomers on  his  fingers,  and  say  that  he  sells  them 
anything  and  everything  which  they  need  in  his  line. 
Through  advertising  and  show  window  displays,  people 
become  famdliar  with  the  goods,  prices  and  methods  of 
stores,  which  under  ordinary  circumstances,  a  score  of 
years  ago,  they  would  not.  So  vve  find  that  people  drift 
around,  as  it  were,  not  through  any  dissatisfaction  about 
your  goods,  your  prices  or  your  treatment  of  them.  So 
if  we  wish  to  hold  our  own,  to  say  nothing  about  in- 
creasing our  business,  we  must  "Be  alive." 

Act  busy.  This  is  a  good  motto,  and  one  whose  ad- 
vice is  easily  followed,  about  a  retail  jewelry  establish- 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


213 


ment.  He  who  cannot  find  work  to  do  about  a  jewelry 
store  must  be  indeed  an  artful  dodger.  Look  about  you 
for  five  minutes  and  jot  down  a  few  things  which  you 
would  have  done  if  you  had  some  one  else  to  do  them 
for  you.  Your  goods  need  cleaning  and  polishing;  a 
few  ckan  cards  would  not  be  amiss,  and  perhaps  the  tags 
oa  your  watches  and  rings  are  shrunken  and  faded  to 
such  an  extent  as  to  make  it  a  difficult  matter  to  read 
the  figures  intelligently.  Your  show  cases,  which  are 
periiaps  cleaned  outside  several  times  a  day,  occasionally 
need  cleaning  inside,  and  so  we  might  go  through  our 
store  in  this  manner.  The  boxes  on  the  shelves;  the 
clocks  and  silyerware  in  your  wall  cases,  all  accumulate 
dust  and  should  be  du^ed  often,  because  it  does  not  en- 
courage people  ito  buy  when  they  notice  a  salesman 
blowing  the  dust  from  each  article  as  he  takes  it  down 
to  show.  Have  things  to  suit  yourself  and  they  will  suit 
others.  If  you  are  ashamed  of  the  way  things  look, 
"Get  busy."  Shakespeare  never  spoke  more  truly  than 
when  he  said,  "To  thine  own  self  be  true,  and  it  must 
follow,  as  the  night  the  day,  Thou  canst  not  then  be  false 
to  any  man." 

Don't  lag.  Don't  loiter.  Neither  allow  any  loafers 
or  loiterers  around  your  store.  Nothing  will  sooner  kill 
business  than  to  have  people  lounging  about  a  store, 
with  nothing  in  particular  to  do,  and  who  notice  every- 
thing that's  done,  and  everything  that's  said.  People 
of  a  retiring  disposition  will  not  enter  a  store  where 
there  are  people  standing  around.  Then,  too,  these 
k)iterers  take  the  time  of  clerics  to  entertain  them.  The 
loss  from  such  visitors  cannot  be  estimated.  Clerks 
should  be  instructed  to  continue  their  work,  no  matter 
who  enters  the  store,  unless  it  is  their  business  to  wait 
on  Ac  trade,  and  if  these  unprofitable  callers  are  not 
held,  as  it  were,  they  will  soon  learn  that  their  calls  arc 
mu^redated. 


214  EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


BSc  Independent  Run  your  own  business,  but  always 
remember  that  you  depend  upon  the  public  for  support, 
and  that  without  their  support,  you  cannot  profitably 
conduct  your  business.  Never  feel  that  you  are  sacri- 
ficing your  independence  when  you  try  to  please  a  cus- 
tomer who  is  dissatisfied  about  something. 

Be  systematic.  Acquire  the  habit  of  doing  things 
promptly.  The  small  details  of  a  business,  handled  sys- 
tematically, are  not  the  burden  which  some  men  make 
of  them.  Letters,  which  need  to  be  written,  and  which 
we  know  about  in  the  morning  should  be  written  at  that 
time,  rather  than  be  set  aside  for  the  last  half-hour  of 
the  day,  on  the  theory  that  they  will  arrive  at  .thdr  des- 
tination just  as  quickly  as  if  written  eariier  in  the  day. 
Perhaps  other  letters  may  need  to  be  written  at  thai 
time,  or  other  important  matters  may  come  up  needing 
our  attention,  or  we  may  be  busy  waiting  upon  custom- 
ers, or  looking  over  a  traveler's  stodcs,  and  perhaps  the 
consciousness  of  unfinished  work  may  make  us  so  ner- 
vous and  disagreeable,  that  we  may  hurry  the  customer 
from  the  store  before  the  purchase  is  made,  or  we  may 
pass  by  desirable  goods  in  the  traveler's  stock,  and  send 
hrni  away  thinking  we  are  slow,  and  that  it  is  hardly 
w<Mth  his  while  to  call  upon  us. 

Be  thorough  in  all  things.  Be  prompt  in  all  things. 
Be  on  hand,  on  time,  and  leave  on  time.  Have  your 
work  ready  on  time.  Be  truthful,  be  sober,  be  honest. 
In  fact,  to  ensure  business  success,  one  must  walk  in  9 
very  narrow  path.  He  must  be  a  real  man.  One  upon 
whose  word  you  can  depend.  All  business  is  a  matter 
of  confidence.  Even  the  man  who  ''knows  it  all"  relies 
upon  your  word  r^arding  the  goods  you  sell.  At  least 
he  depends  upon  you  to  make  good  any  defects  which 
may  become  apparent  later  on.  Be  strict  regarding 
goods  which  you  buy.  See  that  they  are  r^,  or,  if 
not,  return  them  to  the  makers.  lit  is  the  duty  of  a 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS.  215 


storekeeper  to  do  this,  because  die  manufacturer  should 
furnish  perfect  goods,  as  he  charges  for  such,  and  any 
dealer  is  doing  himself  and  his  customers  an  injustice  to 
palm  off  goods  which  he  knows  are  not  what  they  should 
be,  rather  than  file  a  complaint,  or  take  the  trouble  to  re- 
turn the  goods.  The  retailer  is  the  one  who  suflFers  if 
he  does  this.  The  manufacturer  intends  that  goods 
shall  leave  his  factory  in  perfect  condition,  and,  unless 
advised  to  the  contrary,  assumes  that  they  do.  Better 
results  will  follow  all  along  the  line  if  retailers  will  insist 
upon  goods  being  shipped  in  proper  condition. 

Be  the  best  business  man  that  you  can.  Strive  for 
success,  and  make  yourself  worthy  of  it.  Have  perfect 
confidence  in  yourself.  Talk  your  business  up.  Never 
get  discouraged.   Finally,  "Be  ahve." 


2l6 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS, 


CHAPTER  LVII. 

THE  FOLLOW-UP  SYSTEM. 

Always  Remember  Prospective  Customers— Follow  Up  In- 
quiries Where  Purchases  are  Not  Made,  by  the  Letter 
System— Do  Not  Forget  Customers  on  (he  Second  r^il 

THOUGH  rq>ainiig  ahvays  has  been  and  always 
will  be  the  mainstay  of  the  retail  jewelry  store  of 
moderate  size,  still  the  sellini^  end  of  the  business 
is  the  branch  which  enables  the  jeweler  to  accumulate 
money  and  stock.    Repairing  is  all  rig-ht,  but  the  most 
which  we  can  hope  to  do  is  to  pay  expenses  with  it.  To 
make  a  profit  we  must  sell  goods.    There  are  various 
means  of  stimulating  business  about  which  the  writer  has 
written  before.   Our  advertising  and  our  show  win- 
dows are  trade  winners  and  trade  holders.   So,  also, 
are  wide-awake  jewelry  salesmen,  and  we  all  have  a 
poor  opinion  of  a  salesman  who  is  not  wide-awake. 
Most  salesmen  who  are  working  for  their  en^loyers' 
Interests  do  their  utmost  to  makes  sales'  while  ^e  cus- 
tomers are  in  the  store,  but  after  they  leave  some  im- 
mediately forget  about  them.   There  are  some  customers 
whom  it  is  a  pleasure  to  forget,  and  whom  it  is  necessary 
to  forget  if  we  wish  to  accomplish  anything  in  the  way 
of  selling  goods.    Some  people  are  so  hard  to  wait  on 
that  they  almost  discourage  one  about  his  business. 
But  all  callers  are  not  of  this  calibre.   Most  of  the  csdlers 
in  a  jewelry  store  are  either  the  middle  or  upper  class  of 
people.    Now,  then,  if  a  customer  calls  at  your  store  and 
looks  at  an  expensive  piece  of  jewelry  or  silverware,  or  a 
watch  or  diamond  ring,  and  does  not  at  that  time  make  a 
purchase,  or  even  a  decision  regarding  purchasing,  but 
who  is  leaving  without  coming  to  any  conclusion  to  buy, 
either  then  or  later,  at  your  store,  but  who  intends  to  look 
around,  shall  we  drop  him  from  our  thoughts,  or  shall  we 
keep  him  in  our  mind  and  try  to  make  the  sale  at  a  later 
date? 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


217 


When  a  customer  enters  your  store  it  demonstrates 
ckarly  that  he  considers  your  store  a  satisfactory  place 
to  do  business.  You  have  only  to  satisfy  him  m  style  and 
price  to  consummate  the  sale.  We  advertise  all  the  while 
to  get  people  to  come  and  look,  but  when  we  do  get  some- 
one to  call  and  look  at  our  goods  we  should  endeavor  to 
complete  the  sale. 

In  some  branches  of  business  people  buy  the  day  they 
look.    This  is  not  always  so  in  regard  to  jewelry  pur- 
chases.   The  writer  classes  the  selling  of  jewelry  as  be- 
ing practically  the  same  as  selling  goods  by  mail,  and 
requiring  almost  a  similar  follow-up  system.   In  this  day 
of  card  systems  it  is  decidedly  easy  and  inexpensiye  to 
adopt  a  systematic  way  for  following  up  your  inqmries. 
The  names  of  many  of  your  customers  you  know;  the 
names  of  others  can  be  casually  inquired  by  making  some 
remaik  regarding  their  familiar  appearance,  or  as  to 
whether  or  not  they  reside  in  the  city.   Few  there  are 
who  resent  such  questioning,  and  in  this  way  many  names 
will  be  secured.   Write  the  name  of  the  customer  and 
also  the  name  of  the  article  or  articles  he  was  looking  at, 
on  a  card,  and  file  it  away  in  the  daily  index,  about  ten 
days  ahead.   When  that  day  comes  around,  behold,  it  is 
recalled  to  mind  that  Mr.  So-and-So  was  in  looking  at  an 
expensive  watch !    You  then  write  him  a  friendly  letter, 
reminding  him  of  your  willingness  and  your  desire  to 
serve  him,  and,  if  he  has  not  already  bought,  requesting 
him  to  favor  you  with  a  call  before  purchasing.  A 
slight  allusion  to  the  watch,  and  a  few  words  relative  to 
the  value  of  a  good  watch,  may  accomplish  much  good. 
File  the  card  away  a  month  ahead,  and  if  you  have  not 
heard  from  him  meanwhile  drop  him  another  letter.  This 
method  of  following  up  inquiries  has  made  the  mail  order 
business  what  it  is  to-day.    If  the  mail  order  houses  re- 
lied upon  the  orders  received  in  direct  response  to  their 
advertising  they  could  not  continue  long,  but  all  they 
want  is  to  know  your  name  and  to  know  that  you  are  in- 
terested in  a  certain  line  of  goods.    Knowing  these 
things,  they  will  take'  care  to  keep  you  informed  of  their 


2l8 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


whereabouts,  and  in  perhaps  three  cases  out  of  five  they 

make  the  sale,  often  at  an  earlier  date  than  the  inquirer 
intended.  People  seldom  look  at  goods  which  they  do 
not  contemplate  buying,  either  then  or  later.  People  like 
to  feel  that  they  are  of  sufficient  importance  and  their 
trade  sufficiently  valuable  so  that  you  remember  them 
and  ask  for  their  trade.  If,  however,  you  write  to  cus- 
tomers regarding  articles  at  which  they  have  been  look- 
ing and  speaking  (as  you  can  from  the  memoranda  made 
at  the  time)  as  though  you  remembered  them,  for  gracious 
sake,  try  to  remember  them  when  they  come  in  in  re- 
sponse to  your  repeated  letters.  It  is  a  good  idea  to  men- 
tion in  the  letters  the  name  of  the  salesman  who  waited 
on  them  and  request  them  to  ask  for  him  when  they  call. 
This  divides  the  responsibility,  as  each  clerk  will  have 
only  his  own  customers  to  remember  in  this  way,  and 

^^1^  ^?  ^^^y  ^^^^  to  whom  letters  would  be 
sent  but  what  it  can  be  done. 

My  reason  for  advocating  this  follow-up  letter  is  this : 

your  store  and  leaves  without 
purchasing,  presumably  to  look  around,  will,  in  a  course 
of  an  hour  so,  hear  much  technical  talk  and  descrip- 
tions of  different  kinds  of  cases  and  movements  and  dif- 
ferent reasons  for  difference  in  prices.  All  this  leaves 
mm  very  much  confused;  but  after  a  few  days  along 
comes  your  letter,  stating  in  concise  terms  the  kind  of 
watches  you  seU,  and  asking  the  opportunity  to  again 
show  your  goods  and  make  such  explan^ions  as  he  may 
desire.  As  the  prosecuting  attorney  has  the  best  end  of 
tiie  summing  up,  so,  too,  does  the  jeweler  who,  after  all 
have  spc*en  then-  piece,  drops  a  letter  containing  his  sum- 
ming up  of  the  case. 

Of  course,  it  would  hardly  pay  to  go  to  this  trouble 
for  a  small  sale,  but  it  is  a  plan  which  costs  hut  little  and 
may  accomplish  a  great  deal.  If  you  arc  wiUing  to  spend 
money  advertising  on  the  chance  of  attracting  a  p(»sible 
customer  to  your  store  be  willing  to  spend  a  Kttlemore 
to  tollow  up  the  possible  customer  and  possibly  make  the 
sale. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS.  219 


CHAPTER  LVIII. 


TH£  TR£ATM£NT  OF  CUSTOMERS. 

Qmrd  Against  the  Selling  of  Inferior  Goods— Use  Consid- 
eratkm  of  tfie  Cnsloaier's  Statement*— Make  Your  Store 
Attracthre— Confidence  Is  the  Watdmord. 

WE  should  occasionally  stop  to  consider  the  reasons 
which  attract  us  toward  one  store,  and  away 
from  another.  The  same  reasons  which  enter 
into  our  likes  and  dislikes  govern  tlie  opinions  of  others. 
In  the  grocery  line  some  people  trade  where  the  prices  ad- 
vertised are  low ;  cheapness  is  the  governing  power  \irith 
them.  Many  others  trade  with  certain  grocery  stores 
as  a  matter  of  convenience;  they  trade  at  Ifie  comer 
grocery,  whatever  locality  they  may  live  in.  With 
others,  the  governing  power  is  quality.  They  trade 
at  one  particular  store  where  the  practia  is  to  diarge 
high  prices,  but  never  to  send  anything  out  which  is 
not  first-class.  All  these  different  reasons  have  weight 
with  different  people.  Then  others  will  trade  at  a  certain 
place  because  they  are  acquainted  with  the  proprietor,  or 
one  of  the  clerks,  on  whom  they  can  depend  to  see  that 
their  order  is  filled  correctly  and  promptly  and  delivered 
at  the  time  specified. 

These  are  a  few  reas(Mis  for  trading  in  grocery  stores. 
The  jeweler  does  not  toudi  the  life  of  the  family  as  close- 
ly as  the  grocer,  but  there  are  occasions  when  the  jeweler 
must  be  consulted,  and  then  it  is  that  the  same  process  of 
reasoning  and  consideration  is  gone  through  with,  before 
even  starting  from  the  house  to  see  about  making  the  pur- 
chase. The  jewelry  store  is  a  necessary  adjunct  to  every 
community,  and  is  called  into  service  for  each  one  of  the 
"Seven  A^es  of  Man,"  from  the  presents  for  the  new- 
born baby  to  the  golden  and  diamond  wedding  anniver 


220  EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


sary  presents.  All  have  more  or  less  occasioa  to  visit 
the  jewelers  with  more  or  less  regularity. 

One  thing  that  jewelers  should  guard  against  is  the 
selling  of  cheap  goods  for  babies.  Many  people  try  to 
economize  on  the  present  for  the  baby,  but  the  jeweler 
should  keep  himself  out  of  it.  The  family  to  whom  the 
present  is  given  know  where  it  was  bought,  but  not  the 
price  paid,  and  if  its  wearing  qualities  are  not  satisfactory 
will  hold  you  personally  responsible.  As  such  recipients 
in  the  course  of  time  become  purchasers  of  sundry  arti- 
cles, we  should  endeavor  to  hold  their  good  will  by  sell- 
ing nothing  to  anyone  which  you  cannot  conscientiously 
guarantee  to  give  satisfaction. 

Customers  rely  upon  the  jeweler's  judgment,  and  he 
should  never  allow  them  to  make  a  purchase  of  an  article 
which  he  does  not  believe  will  give  them  satisfaction. 
Neither  should  he  have  such  goods  in  his  stock.  In  fact, 
the  jeweler  should  protect  his  customers  from  dangers 
of  which  they  know  not.  Some  writers  argue  that  we 
should  sell  the  people  what  they  want.  To  a  certain  ex- 
tent this  is  eminently  fitting  and  proper.  But  because 
people  have  formed  erroneous  ideas  of  the  price  they 
should  pay  for  an  article  from  reading  an  advertisement 
Iff  a  department  store,  should  we  allow  them  to  buy  from 
us  such  goods  as  we  know  are  unreliable  ? 

So  much  for  the  kind  of  goods  to  sell.  Perhaps  treat- 
ment of  customers  personally,  as  we  meet  them  over  the 
showcase,  has  as  much  to  do  with  making  and  holding 
their  trade  as  any  methods,  however  expensive,  we  may 
try.  We  are  familiar  with  the  Fels  Soap  ad.,  "costs  lit- 
tle, docs  much."  So  it  is  with  politeness.  A  gentlemanly 
consideration  of  a  customer's  statement,  of  whatever  char- 
acter, does  much  to  disarm  anyone  who  is  predisposed  to 
find  fault.  Then,  too,  the  ability  to  assist  a  customer  in 
describing  what  they  really  wish  is  an  art.  It  is  not 
pleasant  for  a  customer  to  be  made  to  feel  that  they  are 
calling  articles  by  incorrect  names.  When  a  customer 
asks  to  be  shown  certain  articles,  using  an  incorrect  name. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


221 


5t  is  not  only  unnecessary  but  poor  salesmanship  to  cor- 
rect them.  It  is  not  always  wise  to  air  one's  superior 
education  and  knowledge  before  customers.  SalesoKii 
should  remember  that  their  business  is  selling,  not  in- 
structing. Sometimes,  however,  the  customer  can  be  set 
right  by  the  salesman  showing  them  what  they  have  incor- 
rectly asked  for,  and  telling  them  several  uses  to  which  it 
can  be  put,  and  stating  the  trade  name  for  them.  People 
do  not  resent  this,  but  to  be  bluntly  told  that  they  do  not 
know  the  proper  name  of  what  they  wish  to  buy  often 
oflfends. 

Customers  are  of  two  sorts:  those  who  have  confidence 
in  the  dealer  and  those  who  have  confidence  in  no  one. 
Each  customer  needs  careful  handling ;  the  first,  that  we 
may  keep  his  confidence ;  the  second,  that  we  may  be  en- 
abled to  impress  upon  his  mind  that  we  can  make  more 
money  from  selling  him  right  goods  at  right  prices  and  in 
right  ways,  and  by  holding  his  trade  and  that  of  his 
friends,  on  future  transactions,  than  by  selling  him  one 
article  and  taking  advantage  of  him,  even  though  the  en- 
tire amount  of  the  sale  be  clear  profit  Some  people  are 
used  to  being  swindled.  They  act  the  part  and  make 
known  their  suspicions  so  plainly  that  many  stordreepers 
do  not  feel  that  they  are  doing  anything  out  of  the  way  to 
swindle  them  a  little  or  sell  them  some  out-of-date  article. 
This  makes  it  aH  the  harder  for  the  honest  merchant  who 
believes  in  the  equal  standard  for  all  All  comers  should 
be  ti«ated  alike.  The  high;  the  low;  the  rich;  the  poor; 
all  should  merit  and  receive  the  same  kind  consideration. 

If  you  can  onoe  gain  the  confidence  of  one  of  these  kind 
of  customers  he  will  go  out  of  his  way  to  serve  you. 
Some  dealers  go  on  the  theory  that  your  friends  should 
pay  the  highest  jMices.  In  conversation  with  an  optician 
one  day,  he  informed  me  that  for  a  certain  piece  of  work 
he  diafged  his  regular  customers  35  cents ;  but  if  it  was 
for  a  stranger,  and  he  had  reason  to  believe  that  they  had 
had  the  same  work  done  before  elsewhere,  he  charged 
but  25  cents.  Other  instances  might  be  cited.  This  op- 
tician did  not  stop  to  figure  that  as  the  customers  of  other 


222 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


stores  came  to  him  occasionally,  perhaps  his  customers 
might  drift  elsewhere,  and,  finding  that  they  had  been 
Steadily  overcharged,  even  so  small  an  amount  as  ten 
caits,  mig^  never  return  his  way.  Another  illustration 
might  be  dted  to  show  the  eflfect  of  little  matters,  which 
customers  sometimes  magnify  in  their  after  relation.  A 
customer  entered  a  store  where  they  sold  brass  wire  and 
asked  fcM-  a  certain  number  of  feet  of  it,  which  the  dealer 
told  me  afterward  was  worth  about  three  and  one-half 
cents,  but  which  he  tdd  the  customer  was  five  cents.  The 
customer  comi^ained  that  the  price  was  the  same  as  he 
had  paid  for  about  three  feet  more  when  bought  previ- 
ously. It  is  certainly  the  little  things  whidi  cownt.  And 
It  is  the  little  things  in  the  running  of  a  business  which 
either  make  it  or  rum  it 

Try  to  make  your  store  as  near  as  possible  like  the  store 
where  you  like  to  do  your  trading.  Ndtice  the  little  things 
about  your  favorite  trading  places  which  attract  you  Hicre, 
and  adopt  them  to  your  own  use. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS.  223 


CHAPTER  LIX. 


THE  ART  OF  LETTER  WRITING. 

Go  Over  Each  Letter  a  Second  Time — Send  Matter  Regard- 
ing Different  Subjects  Separately — Be  Careful  What  You 
Write— Keep  Copies  of  Letters  and  Orders. 

WE  can  all  write  in  our  own  peculiar  way;  some 
good,  some  bad,  and  some  indifferent.  This 

as  regards  handwriting.  But  good  or  bad 
handwriting  does  not  make  a  good  or  bad  letter  writer 
out  of  one.  A  practical  knowledge  of  grammar  and 
spelling  is  necessary  to  compose  a  good  letter.  Man^ 
sentences  are  ambiguous  and  capable  of  different  con- 
structions. Proper  capitalization  and  punctuation  enable 
us  to  make  our  meaning  clear  and  distinct.  It  is  far 
better  to  make  our  sentences  short,  and  even  abrupt, 
than  to  try  to  handle  long,  unwieldly  sentences,  in  which 
it  is  difficult  to  keep  subjects  and  predicates,  with  their 
governing  adjectives  and  adverbs,  in  entire  unity  of  pur- 
pose. Phrases  and  clauses  may  add  to  the  beauty  of  the 
sentences,  but  they  often  lead  us  astray  in  finishing  up. 
And  perhaps,  we  have  written  something  which  will  be 
Greek  to  the  recipient. 

Every  man  who  writes  letters,  owes  it  as  a  duty  to  his 
fellow  man  that  his  letters  be  entirely  legible,  either  be- 
cause of  his  handwriting  or  by  aid  of  the  typewriter.  In 
personal  letter  writing,  if  our  handwriting  is  poor,  and 
our  sentences  puzzling,  it  merely  aggravates  our  corre- 
spondent and  destroys  the  pleasure  which  naturally  fol- 
lows the  receipt  of  a  friendly  letter.  But  a  business  1^- 
ter  which  has  evidently  been  hurriedly  written  and  not 
re-read,  often  omits  the  very  words  which  aie  necessary 


ii 

234 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


properly  filled.  A  wholesale  house,  which  receives  a 
number  of  letters  and  orders  each  day,  each  one  demand- 
ing prompt  and  careful  attention,  cannot  afford  to  spend 
time  deciphering  poorly  written  or  incomplete  letters. 
Brevity  in  business  letters  is  certainly  commendable;  but 
brevity  should  not  be  the  controlling  idea  when  writing 
a  letter  or  an  order.  Say  enough  to  clearly  convey  to 
your  correspondent  your  thoughts  and  desires,  so  that  he 
may  thoroughly  understand  what  you  mean,  and  what 
you  want. 

The  habit  of  re-reading  letters  is  a  good  one  to  acquire. 
In  writing,  the  mind  travels  faster  than  the  pen,  and  of- 
ten in  thinking  ahead,  we  may  unconsciously  skip  a 
word  or  two  which  may  perhaps  be  vitally  important. 
In  careful  re-reading  these  omissions  will  be  brought  to 
light,  and  the  necessary  corrections  made. 

Another  matter  we  should  consider  is  the  inadvisabil- 
ity  of  too  freely  expressing  our  opinions  when  unduly 
excited,  caused  .by  being  angry  or  aggrieved  over  some 
real  or  fancied  injury.  If  one  were  in  conversation  with 
the  person  to  whom  he  is  writing,  a  freer  expression  of 
one's  opinion  would  be  possible  than  in  a  written  com- 
munication. A  letter  containing  a  complaint  ^lould  be 
worded  with  great  care.  President  Lincoln  once  in- 
structed Secretary  Stanton  to  write  a  good,  strong  letter 
to  some  one  whose  conduct  had  displeased  our  govern- 
ing officers.  After  the  letter  was  written,  and  Stanton 
had  read  it  to  the  President,  he  was  surprised  to  receive 
the  .instructions  to  destroy  the  letter  instead  of  sending 
it.  President  Lincdn's  theory  was  that  he  (Stanton) 
reduced  the  pressure  on  his  nervous  system  by  writing 
the  letter,  but  saved  his  self-respect  by  not  sending  it. 
''He  that  conquereth  his  own  spirit  is  greater  than  he  that 
taketh  a  city.'' 

Every  important  letter  should  be  copied,  so  that  we 
may  have  a  complete  record  of  our  correspondence. 

How  embarassing  it  is,  when  offering  scrnie  complaint, 
to  be  met  with  the  assertion  that  goods  were  not  sent  as 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


22$ 


ordered ;  or,  in  accordance  with  our  written  request,  and 
not  have  at  hand  the  means  of  proving  or  supp>orting 
our  claims.  And  how  much  confidence  we  derive  from 
the  knowledge  that  we  have  referred  to  letters  received, 
and  our  letters  written,  before  making  any  claim  or 
charges. 

Letters  enclosing  checks  should  specify  what  bills  we 
intend  to  cover,  and  what  deductions  from  the  face  of 
bill  have  been  made.  With  this  information  carefully 
set  down,  it  is  a  simple  matter  for  the  recipient  to  make 
proper  comparisons  or  figures.  Blank  forms  for  remit- 
tances are  handy  things  to  have,  and  by  the  printed  por- 
tions suggest  to  us  the  proper  parts  to  fill  in  to  make  the 
matter  clear.  It  is  a  first-class  idea,  when  sending  a 
check,  to  have  it  fully  cover  one  bill,  or  several  in  full. 
Many  send  money  on  account.  This  leaves  a  lot  of  fig- 
uring and  "jangling"  at  the  final  settling  up. 

In  ordering  goods  it  is  •  best  to  use  a  regular  order 
book.  You  will  then  enter  things  systematically  and 
have  a  copy  of  your  orders.  It  also  simplifies  matters 
for  the  recipients,  and  makes  the  matter  of  filling  your 
orders  comparatively  easy. 

One  matter  in  particular  tht  writer  deems  worthy  of 
notice.  Some  people  advocate  the  combining  of  letters, 
orders,  etc.,  intended  for  one  firm,  either  in  one  letter  or 
under  one  envelope,  on  the  theory  of  postage  saving. 
The  writer,  believes  however,  that  it  is  better  to  send 
things  under  separate  cover,  thus  insuring  proper  atten- 
tion to  each  part  of  it.  A  letter  with  a  check,  and  with 
an  order  at  the  bottom,  will  be  opened,  and,  the  check 
meeting  the  eye,  all  else  will  generally  be  forgotten,  as 
the  natural  supposition  oftentimes  will  be  that  the  letter 
contains  nothing  but  explanator}-  matter  regarding  the 
check.  Perhaps  later  in  the  day  the  order  may  be  dis- 
covered, or,  perhaps  it  will  go  over  for  a  day  or  two. 
Separate  matter  under  separate  cover  is  immediately  re- 
ferred to  the  proper  department  and  is  promptly  at- 
tended to.   Economy  is  proper  in  many  departments  of 


226 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


a  business,  but  it  hardly  pays  to  practice  it  in  our  post- 
age department. 

Postal  cards  should  not  be  used  for  anything  impor- 
tant; because  no  one  pays  much  attention  to  a  postal 
card.  If  it  is  worth  while  writing  a  communicatiwi,  it 
is  generally  worth  while  putting  it  under  cover,  and  cer- 
tainly it  receives  greater  attention  when  received  at  the 
other  end  of  the  line. 

To  sum  it  all  up,  let's  write  carefully  and  legibly;  re- 
reading each  letter  before  mailing,  and  making  neces- 
sary corrections.  Keeping  subjects  of  entirely  different 
kinds  separate  from  each  other.  Keeping  copies  of  all 
letters  and  orders  given.  Send  checks  to  cover  certain 
bills,  rather  than  to  apply  on  account.  Be  careful  what 
we  write  so  as  not  to  give  offense. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


227 


GHAPTfiR  LK. 

A  BUSINESS  BUILT  ON  HONOR. 

Some  Philosophic  Arguments  in  Favor  of  Conducting  One'» 
Business  on  the  Highest  Ethical  Plane— Such  a  Com- 
mercial Attitude  Will  Pay  in  the  Long  Ron. 

A FEW  years  ago  one  of  the  leading  bicycle  manu- 
facturers used  the  expression,  "Built  on  Honor** 
to  illustrate  the  care  and  honesty  of  purpose 
which  they  used  in  the  manufacture  of  their  bicycles. 
These  words  are  short  and  simple  of  construction,  yet  of 
What  deep  meaning;  they  are  easily  and  quickly  said,  but 
their  meaning  is  not  always  considered  or  understood. 
We  talk  of  a  man's  honorable  career  in  business  after 
his  deadi,  and  yet  sometimes  we  mistake  a  successful 
career  for  an  honorable  one.  A  man  may  have  con- 
ducted a  business  long  and  honorably,  but  without  suc- 
cess. This  does  not  always  foUow.  The  natural  se- 
quence of  an  honorable  career  is  success.  When  we 
glance  about  us  at  our  neighbors,  we  cannot  conceive 
of  many  of  them  doing  a  dishonest  deed  for  gain,  but 
if  all  business  men  are  honorable  in  their  dealings,  why 
do  we  find  so  many  suspicious  customers?  Perhaps 
derks  in  their  anxiety  to  sell  make  statements  which 
are  untrue,  to  say  the  least.  Many  customers  are 
unreasonable  in  their  demands  and  expectations.  They 
are  looking  at  a  cheap  plated  chain  on  which  the  manu- 
lacture  has  very  cheerfully  placed  a  printed  tag,  guaran 
teeing  the  same  for  twenty  years.  What  is  the  retail 
jeweler's  duty  in  this  case?  Shall  he  allow  his  customer 
to  purchase  a  chain  of  this  diaracter  with  the  idea  that  it 
will  wear  that  length  of  time,  and  hope  that  he  wiU  lose 
it  before  it  wears  off,  or  is  it  his  duty  to  either  leave  sudi 
goods  out  of  stock,  or  detach  iH  tags  of  mislead- 


238 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


injg:  nature,  and  sell  the  chain  with  the  statement  that  5t 
will  wear  two  or  three  years?  My  ojMnion  is  that  the 
latter  plan  is  the  best  for  the  jeweler.  Natundly  you 
will  have  to  talk  more  ta  sdl  a  three  year  chain  for  a 
couple  of  dollars^  than  you  would  to  sell  the  same  Aain 
under  a  twenty  year  guarantee  for  the  same  price.  But 
It  IS  worth  the  time  it  takes  to  convince  a  customer  of 
the  right  methods  of  doing  business.  II  is  because  peo- 
ple are  naturaUy  greedy  In  their  expectations  regarding 
k  qtialkies  of  jewelry,  that  manufacturers 

lave  been  led  to  make  extravagant  guarantees  regardinc: 
the  wearing  quaUties  of  goods.  The  writer  understands 
ttiat  m^ufacturers  using  these  guarantees  stand  ready 
to  pohsh  or  replace  articles  returned  to  be  made  good 
but  the  trouble  is  that  every  dissatisfied  customer  does 
not  letum  to  complain.  He  merely  throws  the  article 
airay  and  buys  another— somewhere  else.  A  business 
DUilt  on  honor  means  more  than  merely  giving  the  right 
diange  back.  It  means  treating  each  customer,  however 
humble  or  ignorant,  as  though  they  knew  all  about  ^oods 

JSt'^yt"'^'^  ^"^^  J^"""' 

A  customer  enters  a  store,  and  after  looking  at  differ- 
«it  articles  finds  one  to  his  liking,  and  inquires  the  price. 
The  pnce  perhaps  is  more  than  he  figured  on  paving,  and 
he  asks  if  that  is  the  best  price,  and  is  informed  that  t't 
1!'^^  S^',  ""^^^^  preparations  to  leave,  lo,  the  dealer 
w    A^T.  ''^^  it  for  quite  a  little 

less.  W  hat  efl^ect  does  this  have  on  the  customer?  Does 
he  accept  the  man's  word,  beyond  question,  in  future 
^ansactions?  Does  it  not  encourage  him  in  future 
dealings,  to  button  up  his  coat,  and  get  ready  to  leave, 
firmly  believing  that  he  will  be  called  back?  Honor  re- 
ining price!     ^""'^  "^"^"^      ^  ^"^^^  riiaU  be  the 

"Built  on  Honor."  One  of  our  duties  as  ho«oiable 
business  men,  is  to  advise  people,  according  to^TbS 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


229 


judgment,  and  the  knowledge  accumulated  in  the  years 
of  our  business  career.  People  will  bring  in  articles  for 
repairs  which  are  not  worth  the  cost  of  repairing,  or  they 
wish  them  repaired  in  a  cheap  way.  We  should  advise 
them  rightly  even  if  it  is  against  our  own  immediate  in- 
terests. 

Honor  requires  that  we  deal  honestly  with  our  cred- 
itors in  all  ways.  We  will  not  lie  to  obtain  a  lower  price 
than  the  quoted  one.  Many  times  one  will  make  claims 
through  mistaken  ideas,  but  that  is  entirely  different. 

We  will  charge  stated  prices  on  goods  and  repairing, 
and  charge  the  same  to  all ;  giving  special  advantages  to 
none,  and  taking  special  advantage  of  none. 

A  business  built  on  honor  is  built  on  an  everlasting 
foundation,  if  the  principles  upon  which  it  has  been  built 
are  rigidly  lived  up  to.  A  store,  estaUished  years  ago, 
and  conducted  upon  honor  by  its  first  prc^etor  will 
have  built  up  around  it  a  large  clientele  of  satisfied  cus- 
tomers, which  the  succeeding  proprietor  inherits,  and 
can  lu^d  if  he  follows  out  the  ideas  and  methods  of  his 
predecessor.  But  how'  often  we  see  an  old  established 
business  sold  out  to  a  new  man,  who  will  run  it  iirto  the 
ground  inside  of  a  year.  Courtesy  and  dieerfulness  are 
valuable  adjuncts  to  a  man's  personality,  but  he  can  do 
business  wi^out  them,  if  he  is  building  his  business  upon 
honor.  How  pleasant  it  is  to  have  people  rely  upoi: 
your  honor  to  such  an  extent  that  they  never  question 
either  price  or  quality.  Customers  of  this  sort  are  not 
gained  without  eflFort.  They  are  the  people  who  trade 
in  one  place  for  everything  in  that  line  which  they  hap- 
pen to  need,  until,  either  because  of  some  dissatisfaction, 
or  because  of  some  attraction  in  your  show-window, 
they  enter  your  store.  Much  depvends  upon  the  first  im- 
pression. They  are  still  thinking  of  their  regular  place 
of  trading,  and  involuntarily  compare  your  ways  with 
your  competitor's.  So,  when  a  new  customer  enters 
your  store,  be  ready  and  willing  to  spend,  if  necessary, 


f30  EyANS'S  ESSA  VS. 


an  unusual  anioant  of  tune  in  explanations,  because  if 
once  con vnced  of  your  trustworthiness,  have  ob' 
tamed  not  only  one  sale  but  possiUy  many. 

*^  P**^'"  ^  it  «  hard  to  argue 

agamst  yourself.  It  >s  much  the  same  with  a  legislator 
Matters  are  brought  up  of  which  he  neitlier  knows  or 
rares,  and  a  bnbe  is  offered,  which  he  accepts.  So,  with 
the  jeweler.  His  customers  are  willing  to  pav  ten  dol- 
hre  for  a  watdi  worth  fifteen  dollars.  He  cannot  sell 
them  that,  but  he  can  sell  them  an  inferior  case  for  the 
tower  pnx,  and  satisfy  them  for  the  time  being  But 
tonor  requires  that  we  take  advantage  of  no  man's  igno- 
iMice,  and  that  we  should  give  the  customer  the  benefit 
^ttTr*^"*""-  """y  occasionally  lose  sales, 

iccis  Detter  if  he  does  business  right. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


251 


CHAPTER  LXI. 


RELATIONS  OP  EMPLOYE  AND  EMPLOYER. 

Troubles  Not  Frequent  in  ^e  Retail  Jewelry  Business — 
Some  Prittc^les  of  Give  and  Take  Which  Should  Con- 
trol tiie  Actions  of  Both  the  Pfoprietoca  and  Those  Who 
Work  For  Them. 

IN  these  days  we  read  continually  about  labor  troubles 
of  various  kinds;  about  the  differences  between 
capital  and  labor,  and  employer  and  employe. 
Many  men  arc  unreasonable,  and  do  not  try  to  under- 
stand matters,  or  there  would  be  fewer  troubles  of  this 
kind.  The  retail  jewelry  business,  from  the  fact  that  the 
employers  are  generally  bench  men  and  capable  of  do- 
ing their  own  work,  and  because  of  the  few  employes 
compared  with  the  number  of  establishments,  has  been 
kept  free  from  strikes  of  different  kinds.  But  to  obtain 
the  best  results,  for  both  employer  and  employe,  there 
must  be  a  united  effort.  Each  must  realize  and  recog- 
nize that  he  needs  the  other  in  order  to  accomplish  the 
greatest  and  best  results.  There  must  be  a  wiUingness 
to  give  and  take  a  little  on  both  sides. 

While  the  employe  of  a  retail  jewelry  establishment 
perhaps  earns  less  than  the  same  skilled  labor  in  other 
lines,  yet  he  is  employed  year  in  and  year  out,  with  no 
loss  of  time,  while  many  other  trades  have  to  put  up  with 
several  "lay-offs"  during  the  year.  So  the  employe 
should  make  allowance  for  this  fact  in  summing  up  the 
advantages  and  disadvantages  of  his  position. 

The  employer  should  appreciate  faithfulness  in  his 
employes  by  paying  such  wages  as  he  can  afford,  and 
granting  a  week's  vacation  with  pay,  or  by  allowing  a 
few  separate  days  to  each  employe.  Men  will  work  bet- 
ter for  those  who  show  their  appreciation  and  their  hu- 
manity.  Give  a  man  a  chance  to  recuperate  once  in  a 


^32  EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


t2£  ,„H  A      J  »^  <^'ties  during 

July  and  August  is  becoming  more  and  more  general 

^s  benefits  both  employer  and  employe,  and!  wher  a 

o^ist^f  p^Sj: 

heSSJ."^^*^       ^i"^  What  benefits  one 

b«rfts  Ae  oAer    If  we  could  all  come  to  a  realizing 

we  cannot  hurt  die  other  without  injuring  ourselves 
much  good  would  result  *  ourselves. 

the^hS/'.T  *«>  »"«^d,  and  to  obtain 

«nploy.   For  ^  employe  there  is  no  safer  waTof  keep 

for  It.  Many  go  on  the  theory  that  thev  are  doinP-  a, 
much  as  thev  are  oaid  tnr  tu;^  i  ?  oomg  as 
been  said  -j  .      ,  as  has 

^  '  S«><1.  too,  the  man  who  never  does 

uKM-e  than  he  feels  that  he  is  naid  tr^  Ar.     ■,,  " 
naid  mnm.    Tk:  •  ^  P      *°  "O,  will  never  be 

r^^' ,  IS  true  reasoning.  If  a  man  is  paying 
a  cerbun  wlary  to  an  employe,  and  he  does  no  more  iha^ 
Bft  f*      »         '"'■y  'hat  salary  be  incTea  ed" 

Ss  eiS^LTP'°^'  P"''     ^        ^-^"-^  'i^ks.  and  makes 
b^  sh^rt  S^'^'  u*?       ^"'P'''>^^'  'he  time  wfl 
^iJ,  if^  ^^'a^y  must  be  increased 

^  ^  employer  or  by  some  other  xlh^n 

^'i.  f  ^*      ''r^^  "  ""'^  '""■■^  than  the  allS 
wh^n^^  ***  assuming  a 

SdS.fSLv  be  required,  and  if  one  has  ac- 

not  be  aUe  to  hold  it  PosiUon,  he  may 

So,  if  we  are  working  for  our  own  interests  wi>  ». 
employers  must  consider  our  employes  and  ^  4i7;4 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


233 


them,  paying  them  what  they  are  worth,  and  allowing 
them  an  occasional  day  off,  or  a  week  off  in  the  summer, 
with  pay.  As  employes,  working  for  a  betterment  m 
wages,  we  must  guard  our  employers'  interests,  and 
work  for  them,  endeavoring  to  make  sales  if  we  wait  on 
the  trade,  or  doing  the  best  kind  of  work  if  our  place  is 
at  the  bench,  because,  if  business  does  not  warrant  it, 
we  cannot  expect  an  increase  in  our  pay. 

Too  often  we  look  at  things  from  a  one  sided  view- 
point, and  cannot  see  where  the  interests  of  employer 
and  employe  coincide.  Employers  who  have  in  their 
employ  good,  honest,  hardworking,  painstaking  men, 
should  be  willing  to  pay  such  men  what  they  would  have 
to  pay  others  as  good  to  take  their  places,  besides  the 
trouble  of  finding  such  men.  Employes  pleasantly  sit- 
uated should  well  consider  whether  the  place  with  the 
slightly  increased  pay  is  apt  to  prove  as  congenial  a 
place  to  work  in.  Some  men  have  such  a  faculty  of 
making  things  unpleasant,  that  a  man  would  earn  his 
pay  twice  over  working  under  one  of  them. 

All  these  different  matters  need  to  be  well  considered, 
and  the  faculty  of  being  able  to  give  and  take  in  the  con- 
duct of  a  business,  and  the  working  in  such  an  estab- 
lishment, will  prevent  dissatisfaction.  Employers  should 
not  necessarily  wait  until  their  employes  have  offers 
from  others  before  coming  to  the  front  and  making  an 
increase,  because  if  granted  under  pressure,  or  the  fear 
of  losing  them,  it  does  not  receive  the  same  appreciation 
as  if  given  voluntarily.  If  given  compulsorily,  the  man 
has  a  right  to  assume  that  you  have  known  right  along 
that  he  was  worth  more,  and  he  will  regret  not  having 
asked  you  before,  and  he'  will  be  dissatisfied  over  this. 
Given  voluntarily,  it  comes  as  a  pleasant  surprise. 

In  our  conduct,  therefore,  as  employers  and  employes, 
let  us  take  for  our  motto  the  Golden  Rule  of  "doing  unto 
others  as  we  would  that  they  should  do  unto  us."  Em- 
ployes, do  not  be  afraid  of  overdoing  in  the  amount  of 
wofk.  Employers,  do  not  be  afraid  to  reward  merit. 


234 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


CHAPTER  LXII. 


KNOW  YOUR  OOOD8  AND  STOCK. 
Benm  olFailiir*  to  be  Familiar  With  the  Various  Articles 
You  hrro  to  Sdl-A  Noticeable  Bewilderment  Injure* 
Your  OuuiM  of  a  Sdo-Try  to  SeU  Peopie  What  They 
Want  and  Not  Wbat  Yon  Want 

OF  course,  all  men  engaged  in  conducting  business 
consider  themselves  to  be  thoroughly  familiar 
with  that  business  and  the  stock  of  goods  which 
they  carry    This  is,  however,  an  error,  because  we  wiU 
hnd  that  when  we  enter  one  store  and  ask  for  a  certam 
article  before  it  is  found  several  hurried  conferences 
ot  employes  and  much  searching  is  required  befcro  the 
article  will  be  brought  to  light.    This  does  not  mean 
that  the  article  is  dirty  and  dusty  but  oftentimes  it 
means  that  the  articles  received  fresh  from  the  fac- 
tory are  placed  where  they  are  not  immediately  seen 
when  inquired  for.    We  all  know  where  to  look  for 
watches  or  rings,  scarf  pins  or  cuff  buttons,  and  staples 
of  this  kind,  but  there  are  certain  novelties  of  various 
kinds  which  one  buys,  for  which  there  is  no  steady  de- 
mand, but  which  are  asked  for  occasionally.    While  it 
15  impossible  for  us  to  remember  everything  we  have  for 
sale,  yet  we  should  charge  our  minds'  with  the  necessity 
or  remembering  as  much  as  possible,  not  only  what  goodi 
\Nt  have  in  stock,  but  where  to  look  for  them. 

Then,  too,  the  knowledge  of  whether  or  not  you  have 
certain  goods  in  stock  saves  the  time  of  the  clerk  and 
the  customer.  "He  who  hesitates  is  lost."  We  have  all 
noticed  the  bewildered  look  of  some  clerks  when  asked 
for  certain  goods,  and  we  all  know  the  effect  it  has  on 
us,  and  it  has  a  like  effect  on  our  customers  when  we 
a^ume  the  same  air.    To  be  met  with  a  prompt  answer. 

J"^  ^^"^f  ^^^P  ^^'^  ^ay*  please,"  or 

•We  do  not  carry  them  in  stock.   Is  there  something  els^ 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


235 


which  we  can  show  you?"  leaves  the  customer  with  the 
impression  that  you  know  your  business.  But  to  have 
a  clerk  say,  "I  think  we  have  them,"  and  then  spend  ten 
or  fifteen  minutes  scouring  around,  and  then  have  to  say 
that  they  haven't  them,  or  finally  bring  them  to  light, 
leaves  the  customer  with  the  idea  that  either  the  article 
asked  for  is  not  pc^ar  or  else  that  the  store  is  not  up- 
to-date.  In  either  case,  it  is  apt  to  act  to  the  disadvan- 
tage of  the  jeweler.  Then,  again,  to  know  our  goods 
makes  necessary  that  we  make  thorough  inquiries  re- 
garding them  from  the  seller,  so  that  we  may  be  able  in 
turn  to  ask  any  inquiries  made  by  our  customers. 

At  holiday  time  many  stores  are  compelled  to  press 
into  their  service  extra  clerks,  many  of  whom  are  totally 
unfamiliar  with  the  jewelry  business  and  the  different 
qualities  of  goods  sold  and  handled  by  a  jeweler.  They 
sell  the  goods  for  just  what  they  appear  to  be  to  the  in- 
experienced eye.  So  we  hear  occasionally  of  gold-filled 
cases  and  gold-filled  chains  being  sxAd  for  solid  gold, 
and  other  like  errors.  Such  mistakes  are  doubtless  un- 
avoidable, but  the  regular  employes  of  a  store  should  be 
so  trained  in  the  handling  of  goods  that  they  can  cor- 
rectly describe  the  various  articles  which  they  have  on 
sale.  Then,  again,  so  many  customers  in  their  purchase 
of  an  artkle,  or  in  its  consideration,  become  very  curious 
.  to  know  ite  various  diaracteristics  and  all  about  its  com- 
ponent parts.  To  display  one's  ignorance  at  such  a  time 
is  apt  to  prove  fatal,  so  far  as  the  sale  is  concerned. 

The  salesman  should  at  all  times  command  the  situa- 
tion. While  gracious  m  imparting  information,  he 
should  also  convey  the  unpression  that  he  knows  a  great 
deal  more,  and  that  his  knowledge  is  the  result  of  experi- 
ence, and  that  his  judgment  and  advice  are  trustworthy 
and  valuable.  Some  peofde,  no  matter  how  long  they 
are  employed  m  a  store,  do  not  seem  to  become  familiar 
with  the  stock  to  any  extent.  All  stores  carry  in  stock 
goods  which  ate  only  called  for  occasionally,  but  which 
are  part  of  the  stodc  and  which  the  buyer  evidently  ex- 


^^^iV^'S"  ESSAYS. 


Kg^e  ^'^  a  W  way  tcLrd 

tha?a,J'«~'^  ^hile  showing  good. 

that  he  consMetid  thi  '  indicated 
•gam,  the'^Ssife  saTtlntr  anM^ 

haps  dol  WSdU^'s  Sv  ^  P«f- 

wro«i,*t^*,^'  •  ^""^^  mind,  and 

^  P^^P^^        ^^'^  articles  of 

^Itl^\''^''^''  "^^^^  ^"^h^  know  a" 
b^Jc  l^hf k''^^"     ^"^  has  good! 

Sd^^A^^''''         '""'^  ^h^^h  could  not 

De  loiMid  at  the  time.    Do  not  buy  too  many  eoods  to  I^v 

n«««  ?r-*^  ^l^^y  ^^^^^  that,  know  ^•our  busi- 
nws.  It  IS  your  business  to  know  what  vou  have  tn  .!  1 
and  where  you  keep  k.   You  should  be  aWe  to  offer  sS^ 

made  aTL^S^  u'"  ^  P^^^^^"^  a^ti<^Ie  could  also  be 
wui  prove  to  be  of  assistance  and  a  time  saver. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


237 


CHAPTER  LXIII. 

THB  HOLDING  OF  CUSTOMERS. 

A  Thing  BMential  to  the  Success  of  the  Business— In  Ad- 
vtrtiting  for  New  Ones  Remember  the  "Patrons  of  To- 
day and  Formcriy  as  Wett— You  Can  Show  Your  Appre- 
ciation of  Thair  Trade  hi  Many  Inexpensive  Ways—It 
Pnya  to  Do  So. 

WE  read  a  great  deal  about  means  and  methods  for 
developing  business.  In  ahnost  every  instance 
they  refer  to  ways  of  securing  new  customers. 
It  seems  to  me  that  a  great  deal  of  energy  is  wasted  in 
trying  to  secure  crther  people's  customers,  whidi  might 
be  profitably  used  in  endeavoring  to  retain  our  own  cus- 
tomers and  keep  them  from  being  led  into  new  pastures 
by  the  aUuring  advotisements  of  odier  dealers. 

If  there  was  no  such  a  thing  as  advertising,  all  stores 
would  stand  on  a  level,  except  where  location,  or  stock 
carried,  gave  one  a  littie  advantage.  To-diay,  however, 
every  one  who  is  at  all  progressive  advertises  more  or 
less,  with  the  idea  in  view  of  increasing  the  amount  of 
the  sales  and  profits.  Because  Smith  advertises  in  cer- 
tain papers,  using  certain  amount  of  space,  Jones  must 
of  necessity  do  likewise,  on  the  theory  that  if  it  pays 
one  it  will  pay  the  other.  All  storekeepers  work  on 
the  theory  that  the  only  way  to  increase  business  is 
by  taking  some  one's  customers.  Each  in  turn  ac- 
quires the  other's  customers,  and  likewise  loses  to  the 
ether.  In  acquiring  new  customers,  greater  difficul- 
ties are  encountered  in  handlinj^^  them  and  in  making 
sales  than  in  selling  to  our  regular  trade.  While  it  is 
not  intended  by  the  writer  to  discourage  the  habit  of 
trying  to  make  new  customers,  it  is  his  desire  to  impress 
upon  readers  generally  to  exercise  every  ability  in  keep- 
ing what  they  have.   The  fable  is  familiar  to  all,  of  the 


238 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS, 


dog  with  the  piece  of  meat  in  his  mouth  coming  to  a 
stream,  and,  gazing  at  his  own  reflection,  becomes  cov- 
etous of  the  meat  which  the  other  dog  has  and  drops  his 
own  meat  to  get  it,  with  the  result  that  he  lost  what  he 
already  had.  In  general  advertising  in  the  papers  and 
elsewhere  much  that  is  printed  falls  upon  barren  ground. 
The  very  people  to  whom  your  sermon  is  directed  fail  to 
read  it,  and  a  large  proportion  of  those  who  do  read  it 
have  no  use  for  jewelry,  or  no  money  with  which  to  buy 
it.  It  is  necessary  to  keep  on  advertising  in  order  to 
keep  the  name  before  the  public,  but  our  efforts  should 
not  cease  there.  From  time  to  time  we  should  drum.up 
the  people  who  have  patronized  us  and  whose  names  we 
have. 

All  new  customers  are  not  desirable  ones.  There  are 
sometimes  reasons  for  the  transfer  of  their  patronage 
which,  perhaps,  if  known,  would  dispel  the  feeling  of 
joy  which  fills  our  hearts.  Unpaid  accounts,  or  the 
habit  of  fault-finding,  ofttimes  leads  people  to  change 
their  place  of  trading. 

In  endeavoring  to  build  up  our  business  by  acquiring 
new  customers,  we  may  be  calling  to  our  stores  the  very 
kind  of  customers  which  we  do  not  want.  In  using 
methods  for  keeping  our  own  customers  we  can  make 
selecton  of  the  most  desirable  ones,  and,  by  systematic 
use  of  the  personal  letter,  or  booklet,  or  leaflet,  or  what 
not,  keep  them  from  breaking  away  from  our  ranks  of 
customers  to  help  swell  the  crowd  at  another  store.  The 
fact  that  our  competitors  are  working  constantly  to 
acquire  our  customers  behooves  us  to  use  our  best  en- 
deavors to  keep  them  from  succeeding  in  their  efforts. 
In  a  town  or  small  city,  people  are  generally  acquainted 
with  more  than  one  jeweler;  oftentimes  with  several. 
They  generally  buy  at  one  store ;  yet  what  is  there  to  hin- 
der them  going  to  the  others  ?  All  are  probably  equally 
reliable,  and  all  probably  carry  equally  good  stock.  If, 
however,  the  one  with  whom  they  are  accustomed  to 
trade  sends  them  occasional  reminders  of  what  is  new  in 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS.  239 


jewelry,  they  will  generally  stand  by  him,  for  the  reason 
that  they  will  understand  that  he  appreciates  their  trade, 
because  he  keeps  them  posted  on  the  prevailmg  styles 
and  specialties  frmn  time  to  time.  It  is  in  some  in- 
stances a  big  undertakii^  to  try  to  personally  address 
each  of  our  customers  several  times  during  the  year.  It 
is  not  necessary  that  we  should  send  to  all.  A  selected 
Hst  of  five  hundred  or  one  thousand,  carefully  attended 
to,  is  much  better  than  a  list  several  times  as  large  which 
we  cannot  hsmdie  successfully. 

Recently  in  one  of  the  trade  papers  the  writer  read  of 
how  one  concern  started  an  investigation  of  its  closed 
ledger  accounts.  Each  salesman  was  aidced  to  again  call 
upon  the  customer  of  previous  years  and  try  and  sdl 
them.  There  were  various  reasons,  of  course,  why  these 
accounts  had  been  closed,  an  important  erne  bdng  that 
salesmen  in  calling  a  few  times  had  been  unsuccessful 
in  securing  orders  and  had  therefore  gradually  stopped 
calling.  In  this  manner  the  customer  had  been  allowed 
to  drift  away.  The  article  relates  that  40  per  cent  of 
these  accounts  were  redaimed  by  slight  efforts. 

How  oftm  we  find  the  customer  whom  we  step  up  to 
watt  on  is  a  standby  of  former  years,  and  also  one  whom 
we  have  not  seen  for  some  time.  By  seeing  him  we  are 
reminded  of  the  fact  that  we  have  not  had  his  trade  in 
years.  What  is  the  reason?  Perhaps  there  is  no  real 
reason.  Or,  perhaps,  merely  because  someone  else  asked 
for  the  trade  which  we  made  no  effort  to  keep.  Custo- 
mers lost  through  neglect  are  hard  to  reclaim.  All 
people  like  to  feel  that  their  trade  is  appreciated,  and  it 
requires  but  a  slight  effort  to  let  this  fact  be  known.  The 
''thank  you"  spoken  for  a  purchase  made,  or  a  bill  paid, 
oosts  nothing.  It  does  not  humiliate,  and  it  does  please 
the  customer.  Many  r^rd  the  exchange  of  money  for 
goods,  and  goods  for  money,  as  a  mutual  exchange 
and  mutual  advantage,  and  such  it  should  be. 
But  the  same  exchange  might  be  made  in  other  stores 
^an  yours,  and  from  that  exchange  you  would  make 


1^ 


EVANS'S  ESS  A  VS, 


4'l  1 


nothing.  So  forget  your  stiffened  dignity  occasionally 
and  show  your  appreciation  of  trade  given.  Also  do 
not  be  afraid  to  ask  for  trade  as  opportunity  affords.  II 
a  thing  is  worth  having  it  is  worth  asking  for. 

While  new  customers  are  desirable,  and  we  must  have 
them,  we  must  also  keep  the  old  ones,  or  we  have  an- 
other to  gain  for  every  one  lost,  if,  nautically  speaking, 
we  keep  on  an  even  keel.  When  you  come  across 
a  friend  or  customer  invite  him  to  call  in  when  he  is 
passing  and  see  what  is  new.  Many  times  he  will  come 
in  and  bring  a  job  for  repairing,  if  he  does  no  more. 

Keep  your  eye  on  the  accounts  of  good  customers,  and 
keep  a  list  of  your  good  cash  customers,  and  try  and  keep 
them  as  customers.  Always  remember  that  with  every 
customer  you  hold  you  also  retain  their  influence,  which 
ofttimes  far  exceeds  the  value  of  their  own  patronage. 
**A  bird  in  the  hand  is  worth  two  in  the  bush."  Also,  a 
satisfied  customer  is  worth  two  possible  ones  to  be  ob- 
tained by  advertising  for  the  customers  of  others. 


il 


li 


4 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


241 


CHAPTER  LXIV. 


BB  WELL  AND  NEATLY  DRESSED. 

See  Ourselves  as  Others  See  Us— Business  Men  Cannot  be 
Indifferent  to  the  Opinion  of  Others—Do  Not  Econo- 
mize  Where  it  Will  Attract  Attention  and  <Hvc  One  the 
Idea  That  All  is  Not  WclL 

MANY  men  profess  themselves  to  be  absolutely 
indifferent  to  the  opinions  of  others,  and  from 
this  statement  seem  to  derive  quite  a  little 
satisfaction.  Thev  say  that  they  do  not  know  what 
people  think  of  them  and  that  they  do  not  care.  Men 
who  make  such  pretensions  do  not  even  deceive  them^ 
selves  in  their  professions.  All  men  desire  the  good 
opinions  of  their  fellows,  and  without  it  life  is  deprived 
of  its  charms.  And  if  we  are  in  business  we  must 
have  the  good  opinion  of  a  majority  of  our  acquaint- 
ances in  order  to  l)e  successful. 

To  irain  the  respect  of  others  one  must  have  selt- 
respect.  No  man  can  hope  to  favorably  impress  those 
whom  he  meets  if  he  lacks  that  respect  of  hmiself.  A 
well  dressed  man  will  accomplish  more  than  the  same 
man  shabbily  dressed.  No  man  is  perfectly  at  hi§  ease 
or  at  his  best  when  he  is  shabbily  dressed,  whether  of 
necessity  or  from  supposed  economy.  It  is  false  econ- 
omy for  a  business  man  to  keep  a  nice  suit  for  Sunday 
and  appear  at  a  disadvantage  throughout  the  rest  ot 
the  week.  The  cost  of  being  well  dressed  is  not  suffi- 
cient to  make  any  great  difference  in  the  year  s  profits. 
In  fact,  you  cannot  afford  to  take  the  chances  of  ap 
pcaring  as  though  your  business  is  not  the  decided 
success  which  your  newspaper  advertising  and  your 
salesmen  say  that  it  is. 


242 


EVANS'S.  ESSAYS. 


Another  thing,  salesmen  and  clerks  take  their  cue 
from  the  proprietor.  If  he  neglects  his  personal  ap- 
pearance, they  often  do  the  same.  People  expect  to 
find  jewelry  store  salesmen  to  appear  in  accord  with 
the  goods  which  they  sell.  The  proprietor  and  clerks 
should  be  as  well  dressed  as  the  average,  at  any  rate. 
If  a  customer  enters  your  store,  and  a  well-dressed 
clerk  steps  up  to  wait  upon  him,  he  feels  at  once  that 
he  IS  in  a  first-class  establishment. 

The  Good  Book  says  that  "man  looketh  upon  the 
outward  appearance,"  and  it  is  true  that  we  are  all 
prone  to  form  our  opinion  (often  wrongly)  relative  to 
a  man's  success  or  failure  from  his  dress  and  general 
appearance,  rather  than  from  his  conversation  no 
matter  how  cultured  he  may  be.  ' 

The  first  steppintr  stone  to  success  is  the  adoption  of 
the  means  by  which  the  world  measures  the  standard 
of  success.  If  being  well  dressed  ^ives  us  the  impres- 
sion that  a  man  is  getting  along  all  right,  let's  adopt 
the  same  methods  ourselves.  Notice  what  impresses 
you  about  a  man  favorably  and  then  cultivate  yourself 
along  the  same  lines. 

No  man  can  afford  to  overlook  the  opinions  of 
others.    Even  John  D.  Rockefeller,  rich  though  he  is 
IS  grieved  over  the  expressed  opinions  of  men  whose 

ler  thing  about  appear- 
ing well  dressed.  There  has  lately  appeared  in  the 
newspapers  the  story  of  a  man,  wishing  to  test  the 
value  of  good  clothes,  who  set  out  from  New  York 
poorly  dressed,  to  work  his  way  home.  He  reports 
scant  courtesy  shown  him,  and  is  now  more  than  ever 
impressed  with  the  fact  that  while  the  coat  does  not 
make  the  man  it  most  certainly  does  make  the  impres- 
sion.  \\  hatever  the  man  really  is,  his  condition  is 
helped  wonderfully  by  appearing  at  his  best.  Do  not 
take  chances.  Perhaps  the  fact  that  v(.u  are  successful 
or  brilhant  in  some  particular  lines  may  never  be  dis- 
covered while  you  are  economizing  on  clothes  A 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS.  245 


genius,  after  he  is  known  to  be  such,  can  do  as  he 
pleases,  but  we  are  not  all  geniuses,  and  it  certainly  is 
better  to  follow  along  with  the  crowd  than  to  go  it 
alone.  When  we  see  dry  goods  store  clerks  dressed  in 
the  height  of  fashion  it  certainly  behooves  store- 
keepers to  go  and  do  likewise. 

Whenever  it  becomes  necessary  to  economize  re- 
garding your  expenditures,  make  your  restrictions 
along  lines  where  the  attention  of  others  is  not  at- 
tracted to  the  fact.  A  man's  economies  should  be  of 
the  sort  called  personal  gratification.  Forego  a  few 
pleasures,  if  necessary;  give  up  the  theatre  or  other 
little  extravagances,  but  do  not  economize  in  your 
store  expenditures.  Do  not  think  that  keeping  your 
gas  turned  low  during  the  evening,  or  a  couple  of  jets 
entirely  out,  is  practicing  economy.  It  is  the  rankest 
extravagance.  If  you  have  your  store  open,  presuma- 
bly for  business,  be  ready  for  it.  Passers-by  looking 
at  a  store  with  the  lights  turned  low  will  naturally 
suppose  that  you  are  closed,  and  will  not  even  try  to 
get  in. 

Do  not  be  afraid  of  over-attention  to  the  show  wm- 
dow.  It  will  stand  to  have  a  whole  lot  d<»ne  to  it  every 
week.  Where  the  same  display  is  left  undisturbed  for 
an  entire  week,  the  goods  and  cards  are  dirty  and 
dusty,  livery  morning  they  should  he  dusted  off  with 
a  light  duster.  Do  not  forget  that  your  show  window 
in  a  way  reflects  your  prosperity  and  your  worthiness 
of  patronage,  just  the  same  as  your  clothing  gives  the 
impression  of  success  or  failure.  ^  our  regular  cus- 
tomers, who  visit  your  store  perhaps  a  dozen  times 
during  the  year,  will  look  in  your  window^  a  hundred 
times  during  the  same  perictd.  Your  window,  there- 
fore, should  be  a  creditable  representative  of  what 
lies  within. 

Finally,  be  anxious  regarding  what  i)eople  say  of 
you  and  think  of  you.  Where  a  little  eff'ort  will  ac- 
complish it,  see  that  they  regard  you  favorably.  As 


244 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


business  men  we  cannot  forget  that  much  depends  upon 
now  others  see  us." 

"Opinion  governs  all  mankind, 
Like  the  blind's  leading  of  the  Wind ; 
For  he  that  has  no  eyes  in*s  head 
Must  be,  by  a  dog,  glad  to  ])e  led; 
And  no  beasts  have  so  little  in  them, 
As  that  inhuman  brute.  Opinion." 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


245 


CHAPTER  LXV. 


GO  FORWARD  AND  NOT  BACK. 

You  Have  to  Look  Alive  if  You  Expect  to  Keep  Up  With 
Procession  and  You  have  to  Hustle  if  You  Expect 
to  Gain  on  the  Rest  of  the  Marchers — ^Untiring  Energy, 
A  Good  Reputation,  and  Square  Dealing  Will  Tend  to 
Do  tiie  Trick. 

IF  we  were  given  our  choice  we  would  all  naturally 
choose  to  go  forward  rather  than  backward.  And 
we  are  given  our  choice  in  a  way.   We  hear  a 

great  deal  about  the  survival  of  the  fittest,  and  that 
race  of  life  generally  is  won  by  the  man  who  is  most 
worthy  of  success.  Naturally,  many  a  good  man  falls 
the  wayside  or  is  trodden  down  by  the  more  am- 
bitious. Such  things  cannot  be  helped.  We  may 
theorize  about  matters  in  a  very  beautiful  manner,  or 
we  may  criticize  many  of  our  wealthy  men  who  have 
ruined  others  in  their  rise.  But  how  many  of  us  ever 
think  of  the  other  fellow  in  our  own  business,  except 
as  he  takes  some  important  piece  of  business  from  us. 
We  figure  that  each  must  look  out  for  himself.  This 
is  true,  and  it  is  that  point  which  this  article  is  in- 
tended to  cover.  Every  man  worthy  of  the  name  is 
working  with  some  distinct  purpose  in  view.  Either 
he  is  woking-  to  earn  the  amount  necessary  to  build  the 
ideal  home  which  he  has  dreamed  a])OUt  for  years,  or 
he,  perhaps,  has  his  mind  set  on  amassing  a  certain 
amount  of  money.  Improvement  is  the  cry  of  the  age. 
lu'cry  workman  and  clerk  is  anxious  to  earn  more  money, 
and  they  expect  to  get  it.  They  find  no  satisfaction 
in  plodding  along  at  the  sa-re  salary  year  in  and  vear 
out.   They  expect  to  see  it  increase,  and  increase.  In 


246 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


business,  how  (litTcrent.  A  man  works  a  few  years, 
developing  his  business,  and  after  it  has  just  started  to 
grow  he  gets  tired  and  lets  it  drift  along  any  old  way. 
As  has  been  said,  we  cannot  stand  still.  We  must  ad- 
vance or  retreat.  On  all  sides  of  you  are  the  out- 
stretched hands  of  your  competitors,  beckoning  to 
your  customers  to  come  their  way.  Without  action 
on  your  part,  many  will  be  lost.  If  you  show  a 
proper  spirit  of  hustling,  and  a  desire  to  hold  their 
patronage,  you  can  do  so,  and  in  addition  hold  their 
influence. 

Persistency  is  desirable.  "Consistency  is  a  jewel," 
and  persistency,  to  me,  is  also  a  jewel.  If  we  are 
going  to  acknowledge  defeat,  because  of  several  lost 
sales ;  if  we  are  going  to  lose  heart,  because  of  a  dis- 
satisfied customer;  if  we  are  not  willing  to  adopt  an 
optimistic  view  of  affairs,  then,  indeed,  our  chances 
are  slim  of  ever  accomplishing  a  great  deal  in  a  busi- 
ness way. 

"It's  easy  enough  to  be  pleasant 

When  life  moves  along  like  a  song; 
But  the  man  worth  while  is  the  man  who  can  smile 

When  everything  goes  dead  wrong.** 
Persistency  accomplishes  a  great  deal.  People  re- 
spect the  persistent  man.  ( )f  course,  one  might  over- 
step the  bounds  in  anxiety  to  make  a  sale,  but  that  is 
a  place  to  use  judgment  and  know  when  to  stop.  My 
idea  of  {persistency  is  a  steadfastness  of  purpose,  a  be- 
lief in  the  business  in  which  you  are  engaged,  a  con- 
fidence in  yourself  and  your  goods  and  prices,  and  your 
intention  to  have  a  public  hearing  if  persistency  will 
win  it. 

To  achieve  success  one  must  have  untiring  energy. 
Nothing  worth  having  is  obtained  without  an  effort. 
If  you  desire  a  life  of  ease  you  must  work  hard  and 
earn  it.  If  you  want  your  business  to  improve  you 
must  show  people  why  it  is  to  their  interest  to  trade 
with  you.  Your  profits  depend  upon  your  sales  and 
naturally  you  want  them  to  trade  with  you.  This  is 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS.  247 


understood.  What  you  should  try  to  make  plain 
through  personal  conversation  and  through  advertis- 
ing is  the  several  reasons  why  it  will  pay  customers  to 
trade  at  ^our  store,  and  what  you  are  willing  to  do  to 
hold  their  trade.  People  generally  trade  where  they 
think  they  get  the  most  for  their  money,  either  in 
quality  or  quantity.  If  you  can  show  them  that  you 
can  better  satisfy  their  wants  than  others,  or  that  they 
can  trust  you  implicitly,  then  you  can  have  the  busi- 
ness. Naturally,  as  so  many  other  reliable  men  are 
out  with  the  same  intentions,  one  cannot  acquire  even 
his  own  share  without  considerable  effort;  but  he  who 
is  not  willing  to  work  to  achieve  success  is  not  worthy 
of  it  and  can  never  obtain  it. 

Going  up  stream  is  always  slower  and  harder  work 
than  going  down  stream.  The  writer  once  read  a  little 
story  regarding  a  man  who  was  trying  to  encourage  a 
friend  to  work  harder  by  citing  the  quotation,  "'iliere 
is  plenty  of  room  at  the  top,"  and  lie  was  surprised  to 
hear  the  answer  that  he  guessed  "he  would  stay  with 
the  crowd."  Many  others  are  of  the  same  mind.  Such 
will  never  be  willing  to  put  forth  the  efforts  which  suc- 
cess costs. 

To  advance  requires  that  we  have  a  good  reputation 
among  tlie  people.  What  a  man  does  outside  of  busi- 
ness hours  lots  of  times  affects  his  business.  If  he 
gambles  a  little  it  hurts  him  not  only  with  his  creditors 
but  with  his  customers.  A  man  must  have  a  good 
reputation  morally,  as  well  as  be  ap  honest,  upright 
business  man.  Success  which  we  earn  is  appreciated, 
and  a  man  who  works  hard  to  build  up  a  business 
generally  keeps  it.  Some  business  men  who  achieve 
a  moderate  degree  of  success  immediately  after  open- 
ing up  believe  themselves  to  be  children  of  fortune, 
and  immediately  settle  back  in  their  chairs  and  expect 
to  have  nothing  harder  to  do  than  count  money  during 
the  rest  of  their  lifetime.  Such  are  generally  disap- 
pointed. "A  new  broonA  sweeps  clean,"  is  an  old  say- 
ing. Many  patronize  a  new  store  because  they  know 


• 

II'  •  " 


ill 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS, 


that  everything  is  brand  new,  and  if  the  store  proves 
it  worthiness  it  has  a  chance  to  hold  many  of  its 
chance  customers. 

Improving  the  appearance  of  our  surroundings  and 

the  condition  of  our  q^oods  and  cards  can  be  accomp- 
lished with  little  effort  during  dull  times,  and  doing 
this  will  help  greatly  in  improving  business  later  on. 
There  is  no  difficulty  in  finding-  men  who  are  willing  to 
enjoy  the  results  of  hard-earned  efforts,  hut  there  are 
not  so  many  who  are  willing  to  make  the  effort  first. 
All  rules  are  subject  to  exception,  hut  it  will  generally 
follow  that  the  man  who  works  the  hardest  along 
proper  lines  will  accomplish  more  than  the  easygoing 
fellow. 

"Desire  not  to  live  long,  but  well ; 
How  long  we  live,  not  years  but  actions  tell." 


^1 


THE  PHILOSOPHY  OF  BUSINESS 


CHAPTER  LXVI. 


THE  LINE  OF  LEAST  RESISTANCE 

To  be  Followed  Only  when  Productive  of  Best  Rdiiilt»— 
Should  Have  Some  MeUiod  to  Ditcover  Prospect's  De- 
sires—Keep PenKmal  Preference  in  tlie  Background — 
Metfiods  of  Suggestion  in  Selling  Watdie»— Take  a  Vwm 
from  Outside  tiie  Counter. 

WHILE  not  advocating  taking  the  course  which  is 
the  easiest  in  preference  to  taking  that  which  is 
the  most  productive  of  results,  the  thought  has 

often  occurred  to  me  that  much  valuable  time  is  wasted  in 
trying  to  lead  a  customer  to  purchase  that  for  which  he 
does  not  care,  instead  of  following  out  the  line  of  least 
resistance  and  selling  him  that  particular  article  for  which 
he  has  use  or  choice. 

Ofttimes  it  is  a  difficult  .matter  to  discover  just  what 
article  appeals  to  a  customer,  and  each  jeweler  has  or 
should  have  some  method  of  obtaining  an  endorsement 
of  the  article  most  interesting  to  him.  For  instance, 
someone  enters  and  asks  to  be  shown  sterling  silverware. 
His  taste  may  run  to  simply  designed  patterns,  with  little 
if  any  ornamentation  upon  them.  In  such  a  case  it  is 
very  easy  to  know  the  style  of  goods  which  appeal  to 
him,  but  one  may  have  in  stock  a  large  number  of  such 
patterns,  some  in  bright,  others  in  gray  finish.  Unless 
indicated  in  some  way  that  he  had  special  choice,  it  would 
be  wise  to  urge  the  desirability  of  the  pattern  of  which 
you  had  the  best  stock,  because  then  you  could  show  a 
considerable  assortment  of  the  goods,  and  it  would  rea-  * 
sonably  appeal  to  him  that  you  must  have  liberal  sales  in 
the  line  in  order  to  justify  the  carrying  of  the  stock.  On 


250 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


the  other  hand,  if  he  should  show  preference  for  a  pat- 
tern of  which  you  carried  but  a  few  pieces,  you  should  be 
able  to  quote  prices  readily  on  the  other  goorls  inquired 
for,  in  order  to  make  good  your  statement  th.it  you  had 
sold  down  low  on  the  pattern  in  question.  Business  de- 
mands that  you  should  not  urge  against  the  purchase  of 
one  particular  pattern  which  you  have  shown  a  customer, 
unless  same  is  one  that  has  been  discontinued  and  for 
which  reason  it  would  be  difficult  to  match.  It  is  poor 
policy  to  display  goods  as  being  desirable  to  purchase  and 
then  to  antagonize  the  customer  when  he  shows  that  he 
thinks  they  are  worthy  of  consideration.  On  the  subject 
of  silverware  it  would  seem  advisable  not  to  display  pat- 
terns which  you  were  closing  out  of  stock,  except  when 
you  could  show  them  to  a  customer  purchasing  a  present 
where  it  would  not  make  any  difference  whether  they 
could  be  matched  or  not,  and  where  this  fact  was  men- 
tioned at  the  time  of  purchase. 

Too  often  we  allow  our  own  preferences  in  choice  of 
goods  to  lead  us  into  a  discussion  as  to  the  merits  of  va- 
rious articles,  forgetting  that  we  have  our  entire  stock 
for  sale,  and  it  ought  not  to  make  any  difference  to  us 
which  goods  we  sell.  Women  often  will  ask  a  jeweler 
which  of  two  pieces  of  jewelry  he  considers  the  prettiest 
and  most  desirable.  Unless  she  has  previously  indi- 
cated her  choice,  it  is  dangerous  to  choose  for  her.  We 
usually  answer  that  when  we  purchased  the  goods  we 
selected  from  the  lines  shown  the  most  desirable  patterns 
of  goods,  and  that  it  would  be  almost  an  impossibility  to 
decide  just  which  to  select  of  the  two  pieces  of  goods 
which  were  being  especially  considered.  If  the  goods 
were  ot  equal  value  tell  her  that  it  is  merely  a  question 
of  buying  one  and  leaving  the  other;  which  she  took  or 
left  was  but  of  small  moment.  If  there  was  a  difference 
in  price,  tdl  her  honestly  just  where  the  difference  ex- 
ists, and  why  the  one  is  most  expensive.  Little  differ- 
ences in  workmanship  may  be  pointed  out  which  explain 
why  one  costs  more  than  another.  This  does  not  con- 
demn the  lower  priced  article,  but  accounts  reasonably 
for  the  costliness  of  the  other. 


EVANS'S   ESSAYS,  251 


In  the  matter  of  watches  a  good  deal  of  time  is  wasted 
in  trying  to  lead  a  customer  to  buy  a  watch  about  which 
lie  knows  absolutely  nothing,  whereas  he  has  asked  to  be 
shown  some  particular  make  of  watch.  He  has  not  asked 
lor  your  advice  or  opinion  in  the  matter.  He  has  called 
tor  certain  goods,  and  is  entitled  to  be  shown  what  he 
asked  for  without  being  urged  to  buy  others.  Many 
Customers  will  ask  your  opinion  about  watch  movements 
and  cases;  you  are  then  perfectly  justified  in  speaking 
of  your  favorite  make  of  watch.  If  a  man  enters  your 
store  and  informs  you  that  he  is  considering  the  pur- 
chase of  a  watch,  and  asks  you  to  show  him  something 
suitable,  then  you  have  the  perfectly  just  right  to  dis- 
play your  own  special  watch,  and  urge  its  desirability  and 
worthiness  as  a  timekeeper.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  your 
caller  has  been  in  two  or  three  stores,  has  been  talked  to 
regarding  the  merits  of  one  particular  watch,  and  comes 
to  you  thinking  he  can  find  a  handsomer  case,  or  perhaps 
obtain  some  advantage  in  price,  if  you  immediately  an- 
tagonize the  watch  mentioned  and  produce  the  one  which 
you  think  is  the  best,  you  have  simply  unsettled  his  mind, 
so  that  he  will  not  purchase  at  all  then,  or  else  he  will  go 
back  to  one  of  the  other  stores  and  buy  what  he  wants. 
If  you  show  him  what  he  calls  for,  and  keep  your  own 
particular  brand  in  the  background,  you  may  sell  him 
just  what  he  wants,  and  at  little  trouble.  If,  in  the  tray 
which  you  lift  out  of  the  case,  are  two  or  three  of  your 
own  special  watches,  the  style  may  please  him  to  such  an 
extent  that  he  will  ask  about  them,  thus  giving  you  a 
chance  to  explain  their  desirability.  Unless  such  inter- 
est is  shown,  it  is  advisable  not  to  try  to  lead  him  into  un- 
known ways,  when  he  is  already  well  established  in  the 
"line  of  least  resistance." 

Let  us  consider  the  matter  from  the  other  side  of  the 
counter.  For  instance,  you  are  considering  the  purchase 
of  a  library  chair,  and  you  enter  your  favorite  furniture 
store  stating  what  you  wish  to  look  at,  as,  for  instance, 
one  of  the  large  rocking  chairs,  finished  in  black  leather. 
Would  you  be  surprised  if,  instead  of  showing  you  what 


252 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


you  asked  for,  he  took  you  back  and  showed  you  some 
brown  or  rea  covered  chairs,  not  rockers,  and  informed 
you  that  these  chairs  were  prettier  and  more  desirable 
man  what  you  had  in  mind  ?   Would  he  be  very  much  in 
dMger  of  making  a  sale  to  you,  unless  he  showed  you 
what  you  came  after?    Wouldn't  you  have  to  consider 
the  proposition  a  while  before  you  changed  so  pro- 
nouncedly from  what  you  had  in  mind  to  purchase  ?  And 
in  the  mean  time,  while  you  were  down  town,  if  you 
should  go  to  another  furniture  store  asking  to  be  shown 
large  leather  rockers  in  black,  and  were  accommodated 
without  bemg  shown  anything  else  to  confuse  the  mind, 
would  not  the  fact  make  almost  certain  that  you  would 
take  the  chair  from  him,  even  though  you  ordinarily 
wuld  give  the  first  dealer  the  preference?   One  cannot 
afford  to  take  chances  in  such  matters.   The  few  cents 
extra  profit  made,  if  such  be  the  case,  will  not  compen- 
sate for  the  loss  of  confidence  if  the  article  recommended 
^ould  not  equal  expectations.    If,  as  often  is  the  casr , 
the  article  recommended  is  equally  expensive,  or  per- 
haps more  so,  your  efforts  to  give  him  greater  Value  for 
his  money  are  seldom  appreciated.    If  he  buys  what  he 
asks  for  he  has  assumed  part  of  the  responsibility.  Then 
if  he  returns  with  a  complaint  an  exchange  can  be  ar- 
ranged for  what  you  especially  recommend,  and  satisfac- 
tion will  then  be  the  greater  on  both  sides.  The  old  say- 
ing, ^  Convmce  a  man  against  his  will,  he's  of  the  same 
opmK>n  still,"  is  a  true  one,  and  if  we  study  the  situation 
closely  we  cannot  but  determine  that  we  consult  our  own 
best  mterests  when  we  "follow  out  the  line  of  least  re- 
sistance." 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS, 


253 


CHAPTER  LXVII. 


SYMPATHY  FOR  THE  TROUBLES  OF  CUSTOMERS. 

Those  We  are  Obliged  to  Notice,  Though  Un^ympatfaetio— 
Moderate  Guarantees  Advisable — ^Adjustment  of  Com- 
plaints— Independence  Not  Always  Necessary— Take  the 
Benefit  of  a  Doubt— Camiot  Measure  the  Influence  of  a 
Dissatisfied  Customer. 

NOW  the  jeweler  may  he  a  man  of  sympathy,  or  he 
may  not.  It  may  be  that  the  troubles  and  suffer- 
ings of  others  may  awaken  sympathetic  chords 
within  us,  or  we  may  be  cold  and  heartless  as  regards  such 
matters.  Be  that  as  it  may,  there  is  one  way  in  which  we 
are  obhged  to  share  our  customers'  troubles,  whether  we 
wish  to  or  not,  and  that  is  when  that  trouble  is  in  connec- 
tion with  some  article  of  jewelry  which  was  purchased 
at  our  store,  and  which  through  the  vicissitudes  of  life 
has  become  injured  so  that  it  docs  not  give  its  usual  serv- 
ice. Then  comes  the  question  of  the  guarantee.  The 
customer  can  remember  just  what  you  said  about  the  ar- 
ticle, and  sometimes  can  remember  more  than  you  said. 
Sometimes  they  remember  a  price  much  in  excess  of  that 
actually  paid.  What  are  you  going  to  do  about  it?  That 
is  the  (juestion.  You  sold  it,  and  you  guaranteed  it,  and 
you  made  a  big  profit  on  it.  \\liat  do  you  propose  to  do 
to  make  things  right  with  the  customer?  Well,  in  the  first 
place,  in  order  to  avoid  such  complaints,  we  should  be 
moderate  in  our  statements. 

We  should  not  proceed  upon  the  theory  of  the  cheap 
filled  case  maker,  who  figures  in  this  wise:  "Perhaps 
tiie  customer  may  give  it  away,  or  he  may  lose  it,  or  he 
may  get  hard  up  and  be  obliged  to  pawn  it,  or  he  may 
have  his  pocket  picked,  or  he  may  drop  it  on  the  railroad 
and  a  train  may  run  over  it.  In  fact,  so  many  things 
may  happen  to  the  article  before  it  proves  that  we  are 


254 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


liars,  that  it  does  not  make  much  difference  what  we 
say  to  make  the  sale."  Some  jewelers  may  proceed  on 
this  theory,  but  my  idea  is  that  most  of  the  extravagant 
guarantees  are  given  by  inexperienonl  clerks,  or  else  the 
imagination  of  the  customer  has  created  them.  ^  But, 
moderate  as  we  may  be  in  r^rd  to  what  we  guarantee, 
we  still  have  from  time  to  tune,  complaints  which  must 
be  adjusted  to  the  customer's  satisfaction.  Now,  we  all 
have  our  own  ideas  of  what  is  right  and  fair  to  demand, 
but  we  must  learn  to  k>ok  at  thingps  from  the  other  side 
of  the  counter.  If  your  customer  is  open  to  reason  per- 
haps you  can  convince  him  or  her  that  they  are  asking 
more  than  justice  demands  that  you  should  do,  but  there 
is  an  old  saying  to  the  effect  that,  "Convince  a  man  against 
his  will,  he's  of  the  same  opinion  still,"  and  you'll  find 
this  to  be  the  case,  to  a  certain  extent,  in  the  handling  of 
complaints.  It  is  not  always  wise  to  make  a  custcHner 
feel  small,  or  ashamed  of  himself.  If  he  has  pondered 
the  matter  over  at  home,  has  finally  made  up  his  mind 
that  he  has  a  just  cause  of  complaint  and  has' come  to 
your  store  with  it,  tliere  is  a  question  whether  you  can 
persuade  him  that  he  is  unreasonable  without  acquiring 
his  ill-feeling. 

One  day's  business,  or  one  particular  sale,  or  one  par- 
ticular customer  do  not  make  a  business,  but  they  help 
to  do  so.  It  is  better  for  the  sake  of  your  business  to 
allow  yourself  to  be  occasionally  imposed  upon,  as  it 
were,  than  to  always  obtain  your  rights  and  lose  a  cus- 
tomer. If  your  customer  is  asking  something  unreason- 
able, in  time  he'll  come  to  know  it,  and  the  fact  that  you 
were  kind  and  considerate  in  your  treatment  of  him  un- 
der such  circumstances,  will  cause  him  to  feel  an  interest 
in  your  business  otherwise  impossible.  He  will  under- 
stand that  you  have  done  liim  a  favor  and  he  will  recip- 
rocate. W  e  all  know  that  tliere  are  occasions  when  in- 
dependence is  necessary,  but  they  do  not  happen  as  of- 
ten as  some  people  think  they  do.  The  customer  who 
brings  a  watch  into  your  store  for  a  mainspring  should 
be  told  that  the  watch  must  be  cleaned  before  you  can 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS, 


255 


guarantee  it  to  give  him  satisfaction.  Then,  if  he  de- 
clines to  have  it  cleaned  because  of  the  cost,  you  have 
some  ground  for  telling  him  when  he  returns  it,  that  the 
watdi  must  be  cleaned. 

Very  often  the  jeweler  takes  in  a  watch  for  a  main- 
sprmg  and  says  nothing  about  the  cleaning.  The  watch 
does  not  run  properly,  the  customer  returns  it  under  the 
impression  that  the  trouble  rests  with  the  spring  which 
you  have  put  in  for  him.  Then  you  tell  him  that  the 
watch  needs  cleaning  and  will  cost  him  a  dollar  or  so 
more.  He  does  not  understand  it;  he  brought  the  watch 
to  you  to  repair,  and  as  he  understood  it,  you  did  every- 
thing it  needed.  Now  you  want  another  dollar  to  make 
work  good  which  should  have  been  done  before.  The 
only  way  you  are  going  to  satisfy  that  fellow  is  by  clean- 
ing his  watch  for  nothing.  All  that  can  be  avoided  by 
following  the  rule  advised  in  the  first  place.  Insist  upon 
cleaning  any  watch  brought  in  for  other  repairs,  unless 
you  have  previously  done  that  work  within  a  short  time. 

Then  you  have  numerous  complaints  about  a  ring 
which  you  have  soldered  becoming  unsoldered ;  stones  set 
in  rings  and  pins  commg  out,  and  so  on.  How  can  you 
keep  your  repair  department  going  and  returning  profit, 
and  at  the  same  time  keep  your  customers  of  the  satis- 
fied sort?  Well,  as  near  as  I  can  figure  it  out,  it  is  nec- 
essary that  you  charge  a  sufficient  amount  for  each  and 
every  job  done,  to  cover  the  little  incidental  complaints 
which  require  service  for  nothing.  In  taking  in  work  be 
thorough.  Learn  a  customer's  desires  and  quote  a  price 
which  will  allow  you  to  do  the  work  necessary  without 
slighting  it.  Give  yourself  the  benefit  of  the  doubt  on 
difficult  work.  One  thing  to  remember  is  that  your  cus- 
tomers will  stand  for  an  overcharge  on  a  job,  rather 
than  to  pay  over  for  some  job  which  they  consider  was 
not  properly  done  the  first  time. 

No  matter  how  you  try  you  will  find  customers  who 
will  kick.  Now,  you  must  decide  whether  you  are  going 
to  try  and  keep  that  customer's  trade  or  whether  you 
consider  that  their  trade  and  influence  is  worth  so  little 


256 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


that  you  can  afford  to  offend  them.  And  right  here  is  a 
difihcult  problem  to  solve.  You  may  know  to  a  cent  how 
much  the  trade  of  a  customer  is  worth,  but  you  cannot 
measure  the  mfluence.    Sometimes  people  who  trade 
least  are  good  advertisers.   Thev  make  a  big  noise  in  a 
store  when  they  come  in  to  complain,  because  they  wish 
to  be  sure  that  you  will  give  them  what  they  consider 
their  just  deserts.    Such  people  often  do  loud  talking 
outside  for  a  store,  or  will  bring  a  customer  to  you.  Mar- 
shall Field  used  to  say,  'The  customer  is  always  right." 
We  know  that  this  is  not  true,  and  yet  a  mammoth  busi- 
ness has  been  created  on  that  theory.   Can  you  afford  to 
set  yourself  up  as  an  authority  on  how  best  to  use  cus- 
tomers, in  opposition  to  the  policy  of  a  big  store  like  Mar- 
shall Field's?   No,  you  cannot  do  it.   You  know  that  af- 
ter all,  it  is  the  little  things  of  life  which  worry  most,  and 
some  people  who  act  the  smallest  over  a  picayune  trans- 
action, loom  up  bigger  in  larger  transactions.    Give  tiie 
customer  the  benefit  of  the  doubt  always.    Allow  your- 
self to  be  imposed  upon,  rather  than  to  take  advantage 
of  a  customer.    We  realize  that  sometimes  it  is  almost 
more  than  an  independent  man  can  stand  to  have  himself 
imposed  upon,  but  do  not  lose  sight  of  future  possibilities 
in  present  transactions. 


EVANS'S   ESSAYS.  257 


CHAPTER  LXVIII. 


A  CAUSE  FOR  EVERY  RESULT. 

RUlct  for  Attaining  Socccm  The  Matter  of  Accommoda- 
tioii— Mutt  be  Done  Gradoasly— Correcting  the  Cus- 
tomer*!  Brror»— Need  of  Money  Has  Little  Influence  on 
Seles— Helping  Out  a  Friend— Be  Sure  to  Satisfy  the 
Cvstonier. 

WE  hear  a  great  deal  to-day  through  advertising 
matter,  that  ''there's  a  reason."  We  do  not  of- 
ten apply  that  statement  to  many  things,  but  if 
we  stop  to  analyze  the  various  questions  which  engross 
the  public  mind  and  eye,  we  will  see  that  there  is  a  cause 
for  every  result.  By  the  way,  some  bright  mind  has 
pointed  out  the  difference  between  results  and  conse- 
quences. He  says  results  are  what  we  hope  and  work  for ; 
consequences  are  what  we  get.  Nevertheless,  there  are 
reasons  which  one  can  find  for  the  success  of  one  store 
and  the  failure  of  another.  :Many  stores  are  conducted 
upon  such  policies  that  ruin  is  written  on  the  wall  even  as 
Belshazzar's  doom  was  written  so  many  years  ago. 

It  is  not  enough  to  desire  success,  or  to  wish  that  we 
had  money.  Even  the  corner  loafer  whose  only  ambition 
is  a  job  to  unload  schooners,  is  equally  anxious  to  obtain 
money,  because  money  will  purchase  that  which  he  de- 
sires. It  would  seem  as  though  it  should  be  simplicity  it- 
self for  each  storekeeper  to  be  a  successful  merchant ;  so 
many  trade  paper  writers  have  told  how  to  do  it.  And 
yet,  week  after  week,  we  read  of  this  one  and  that  one 
who  has  petitioned  in  bankruptcy,  assigned,  or  is  seeking 
some  kind  of  settlement.  And  the  strange  thing  about  it 
is  the  fact  that,  as  the  insane  asylums  do  not  contain  ev- 
ery one  who  is  entitled  to  a  place  in  them,  so  too,  the 
complete  list  of  "business  failures"  will  never  be  written. 
Why  is  one  store  a  complete  success?  And  why  is  its 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


neighbor  a  failure?    These  questions  are  not  hard  to 
answer  if  one  searcli  diligently  for  their  solution.  There 
are  certain  hard  and  fixed  rules  which  have  been  laid 
down  from  time  ininiemorial  which  one  must  foUow  in 
order  to  attain  success.    You  have  read  these  so  many 
times,  that  it  seems  idle  to  mention  them  again.  Thev 
are  such  quahfications  as  honesty,  truthfulness,  prompt- 
ness, and  so  on.  Do  not  infer  for  a  minute  that  the  wrkcr 
charges  the  unsuccessful  merchant  with  being  short  in 
any  of  these  particulars.   Remember  that  success  is  not 
promised  by  any  of  the  great  thinkers,  to  those  who  fol- 
low these  set  rules,  but  it  is  given  as  a  positive  truth  that 
success  cannot  be  attained  without  them.    After  that 
there  comes  the  necessity  for  a  great  many  additional 
qualities,  in  which,  however,  men  differ  radicaUy 

l^or  instance,  in  the  matter  of  accommodating  custom- 
ers there  is  an  opportunity  for  a  wide  range  which  will 
include  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men.  Here  we  find 
the  man  who  will  go  the  limit  in  the  matter  of  accommo- 
dation, and  all  grades  down  to  the  man  who  never  did 
anytliing  for  anybody  unless  there  was  something  In  it 

^"""^  ^^'^'^  ^"^ther  factor  to  beTonsid- 
ered,  and  that  is  courtesy.  It  is  not  enough  to  perform 
some  desired  act,  but  it  must  be  done  graciously.  It  is 
tlie  difference  in  manner  in  which  men  do  things,  which 
makes  one  man  popular  and  another  unpopular  You 
step  into  a  store  and  ask  for  something  which  will  re- 
quire an  unusual  effort  to  perform.  The  goods  are  in  an 
upper  room,  or  in  an  adjoining  warehouse.  If  the  man 
who  starts  to  wait  on  you  goes  after  the  article  requested 
muttering  to  himself  because  of  the  enforced  exiinse  of 
energy-,  you  do  not  feel  like  troubling  that  same  man 
agam.  \ou  would  much  prefer  to  go  a  little  ways  fur- 
ther and  seek  the  article  desired  at  a  store  where  the  pro- 
prietor or  clerks  are  willing  to  oblige  and  do  so  in  a  pleas- 
ant manner.  *^ 

Then  there  is  another  difference  of  manner  which 
makes  for  either  a  pleasant  or  unpleasant  effect  Cus- 
tomers  ofttimes  in  error  call  things  by  incorrect  names 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


259 


You  can  correct  them  in  an  unpleasant  manner  which  will 
offend,  or  you  can  demonstrate  the  use  of  the  article  and 
call  it  by  its  proper  name;  or  if  the  customer  is  selectmg 
the  article  for  a  use  which  will  make  well  informed  ac- 
quaintances smile,  it  is  easy  enough  to  set  her  right  with- 
out giving  offense.  Take,  for  instance,  the  many  little 
articles  of  silver  which  can  be  used  for  different  pur- 
poses, although  the  trade  name  may  indicate  but  a  smgle 
one  for  which  use  can  be  found.  If  the  customer  is  mak- 
ing an  error,  state  the  fact  that  it  can  be  used  for  several 
different  purposes,  although  the  manufacturer  catalogues 
it  as  so  and  so.  You  thus  save  your  customer  from  buy- 
ing a  cuticle  knife  for  an  envdope  opener,  or  other  simi- 
lar mistakes.  The  matter  of  personality  enters  into  every 
transaction.  Customers  dislike  to  leave  a  store  without 
purchasing  when  they  are  shown  every  attention  and 
courtesy  possible,  but  if  they  are  antagonized  at  every 
turn,  contradicted  about  this  and  that,  and  have  to  listen 
while  the  proprietor  or  salesman  airs  his  superior  knowl- 
edge of  the  goods,  they  will  most  Ukely  retire  without 

buying.  . 

Your  desire  to  sell  goods  will  never  bring  you  anything 
unless  you  can  advance  some  reason  other  than  the  fact 
that  you  need  the  money.  For  every  dollar  there  is  a 
dozen  hands  stretched  out.  You  cannot  make  sales  by 
condemning  competitors  or  the  class  of  goods  they  carry. 
One  must  show  himself,  above  all  other  things,  to  be  a 
man.  Sometimes  the  fact  that  a  man  is  big  and  liberal 
in  his  views  will  win  a  sale  for  him  which  would  other- 
wise be  lost.  Every  store  has  its  customers ;  those  who 
would  not  willingly  go  elsewhere  to  trade.  However,  in 
every  city  are  men  and  women  who  are  well  enough  ac- 
quainted with  several  jewelers  that  they  cannot  properly 
be  called  customers  of  any  one  store.  They  buy  where 
it  pleases  them  to  make  the  immediate  purchase.  How 
shall  we  handle  such  customers?  They  look  around  be- 
fore buying.  Well,  here  is  how  one  jeweler  made  a  sale 
to  such  a  customer.  He  showed  him  diamonds  and  the 
customer  finally  decided  that  if  he  bought  any  from  him 


26o 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


it  would  be  one  at  $150.  He  stated  that  he  wished  to 
00k  m  one  n.ore  store  before  deciding.  Th^hTw^gS 
ing  to  think  the  n.atter  over  and  decide  where  he 
he  could  do  the  best.  He  mentioned  the  name^X 
store  where  he  wished  to  look,  and  the  nai^^iijthat 
ot  a  fnend  of  the  jeweler,  the  latter  thoughihe  m^t^M 

land  Z  'Vr^'^r''  I''  that  if  he  coK 

land  the  sale  himself,  perhaps  his  friend  might  be  able  to 

mention.^'  accordingly  told  the  customer  that  the  sto^ 
mentioned  was  a  good  one,  and  that  he  could  safely 
his  purchase  there.  He  said,  ''You  tell  Mr  ~^^t 
how  much  you  want  to  pay  and  he'll  be  perfectly  honest 
with  you,  and  give  you  full  value  for  youV^mS"  Mr 
"Wet'ifThltJ^^t^  surprised  when  ^is  cusZ^eV  sM] 
tw  T  it?  ^  '''^^  >'^"  ^^^1  ^bout  it,  I  don't  think 
tha^I  need  look  any  further.   I'll  take  that  ring." 

SSr;  1,       '  ""^^u  cannot  saw  wood 

with  a  hammer."   Show  your  customers  that  you  7^ 
big  man  m  a  business  way.  This  vou  rannnf  L  k 
"chesty/;   It  IS  by  being'above  thrg,^^^^^^^^^^^ 

^e  Ar^av?c  /  '""^"'^'^  self-respect  to  make  a 
h.  h..  T  ^""^  ^'T  customer  away  satisfied,  whether 
iK,vf-T'^^i  ^  T^emember  the  sS 

'^''y  establishment,  "1 T 
isfied  customer  is  our  best  advertisement." 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


CHAPTER  LXIX. 


THE  ELEMENT  OP  CHANCE. 

Conciliating  the  Customer  with  a  Complaint — Kickers  Satis- 
fied with  Only  One  Kind  of  Settlement— Every  Trans- 
action Presents  a  Chance  for  Good  or  111  Will — A  Change 
of  Mind  Through  Suggestion — ^Pleasing  the  Finicky 
Customer. 

WHILE  not  believers  in  "luck,"" as  it  is  generally 
termed,  we  must  all  agree  that  there  is  a  cer- 
tain element  of  chance  which  enters  into  every 
sale,  and  every  transaction  which  takes  place  in  our  stores. 
The  door  of  your  store  opens  and  a  prospective  customer 
enters.   You  step  forward  to  meet  her  and  to  learn  her 
desires.   Perhaps  she  has  entered  for  the  purpose  of  mak- 
ing a  complaint  about  the  wearing  qualities  of  some  arti- 
cle purchased  of  you.    Perhaps  her  complaint  is  not  just, 
or  her  manner  of  making  it  strikes  you  unfavorably.  Then 
comes  the  ''element  of  chance."   You  have  the  opportun- 
ity of  so  handling  that  customer  that  you  conciliate  her, 
and  make  her  a  walking  advertisement  for  your  store, 
or  (which  is  perhaps  more  likely  to  occur),  you  go  up  in 
the  air,  and  tell  her  very  plainly  that  she  is  unjust  in  her 
expectations  and  claims,  and  let  her  understand  that  you 
will  not  be  imposed  upon.    If  you  go  at  it  right,  you  can 
at  almost  no  expense  make  that  woman  your  friend  and 
well  wisher.    If  she  is  innocent  of  any  intention  to  take 
advantage  of  you,  she  cannot  but  be  well  satisfied  with 
your  treatment,  wdiile  if  she  knows  that  she  is  imposing 
upon  you,  she  will  respect  you  for  your  courteous  treat- 
ment and  will  send  enough  customers  your  way  to  make 
good  for  the  little  which  she  has  cost  you. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  you  talk  to  your  customer  as 
though  you  considered  that  she  was  trying  to  take  advan- 


262  EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


tagc  of  you,  and  you  show  that  you  are  angry  about  it, 
she  wiU  reciprocate  your  feelings,  and  perhaps  will  insist 
to  such  an  extent  that  in  order  to  pfievent  a  scene  which 
will  attract  the  notice  of  other  customers  in  the  store,  and 
be  reported  on  the  street,  you  will  agree  to  do  what  the 
customer  asked  you  to  do  in  the  first  place,  but,  as  you 
are  doing  it  under  pressure,  you  do  not  gain  the  good- 
will of  the  customer  the  way  you  would  if  you  had  agreed 
to  make  good  without  any  trouble.  There  are  a  certain 
number  of  people  in  this  world  who  can  best  be  described 
as  kickers.    While  they  are  universally  despised,  they 
|ust  as  universally  get  their  rights.  The  easy-going  cus- 
tomer often  accepts  in  silence  misfit  clothing  from  the 
tailor,  or  takes  hiis  watch  to  another  jeweler  to  be  re- 
paired,  paying  the  second  charge  rather  than  filing  a  com- 
plamt.  Not  so  the  kicker.  He  has  paid  his  money  and 
demands  satisfaction.  One  thing  to  remember  in  waiting 
upon  such  customers,  is  the  fact  that  there  is  only  one 
settlement  which  will  satisfy  them,  and  that  is  by  doing 
what  they  request  If  you  intend  to  do  this,  or  will  do  it 
as  the  pnce  of  peace,  do  it  without  any  argument.  Un- 
iHeasant  scenes  with  customers  of  this  sort  unfit  you  to 
wait  upon  the  next  customer,  who  perhaps  may  notice 
some  htUe  discourtesy  and  postpone  the  prospective  pur- 
cxiase. 

As  stated  in  the  opening  sentence,  there  is  an  element 
of  chance  m  every  transactbn  which  takes  place  in  youi 
store.  A  customer  is  seeking  some  little  article  as  a  gift 
for  a  wedding  or  anniversary.  He  is  kx^ng  for  s^e 
odd  piece  of  goods,  which  you  do  not  happen  to  have 
l|ut  remember,  he  does  not  have  to  buy  just  that  one  arti- 
cle. It  is  up  to  you  to  change  his  mind  about  it  This 
you  will  never  do  by  telling  him  bluntly  that  you  do  no! 
have  the  particular  article  called  for  and  asking  him  if 
something  else  will  not  do.  Argue  it  out  in  this  way, 
1  suppose  you  are  thinking  about  this  artkle  in  connect 
tion  with  the  approaching  wedding  of  some  friend.  Now, 
while  we  do  not  happen  to  have  that  in  stock,  we  have 
made  unusual  prq)aratk)ns  for  this  spring's  wedding 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS, 


263 


season,  and  I  am  sure  that  we  can  find  something  which 
perhaps  you  have  not  yet  thought  of  which  will  be  even 
more  desirable  than  the  one  you  had  in  mind.  At  any 
rate,  it  will  not  take  more  than  five  minutes  of  your  time, 
and  if  we  do  not  find  anything  you  like,  tiiere  will  be  no 
harm  done." 

One  customer  out  of  ten  will  insist  that  the  article 
asked  for  is  the  only  thing  that  will  do,  while  the  otfier- 
nine  are  open  to  convictk>n.  Most  inquirers  after  a  piece 
of  goods,  merely  have  that  as  a  starting  point.  They  do 
not  care  whether  they  buy  that  one  thing  or  somediing 
else.  But  it  remains  for  the  man  who  can  suggest  some- 
thing else  to  them  to  make  the  sale.  Merely  telling  them 
tfiat  you  have  not  what  they  are  looking  for  will  never 
bring  you  business.  Remember  that  you  are  a  merchant 
and  not  merely  a  storekeeper.  Remember  that  your  cus- 
tomer is  in  your  store  because  he  has  confidence  in  your 
judgment  and  hcmesty.  Remember  that  he  values  your 
advice  ^ve  his  own  ideas.  Be  master  of  the  situation. 
Do  not  argue  wiA  customers.  Persuade  them  that  cer- 
tain things  are  desirable.  Convince  them  that  you  are  in 
reality  in  Uidr  empk>y  when  you  conduct  your  store; 
that  Uiere  are  certain  customers  on  whom  you  rely  for 
support,  aiul  of  whom  you  think  when  you  are  buying 
goods.  Impress  upon  them  the  fact  that  your  guarantee 
of  quality  is  dieir  protection.  Teach  customers  that  they 
can  depend  absolutely  upon  your  word,  .and  that  your 
word  is  your  bond. 

The  demoit  of  chance  enters  into  the  transaction  with 
a  customer  who  is  seeking  some  small  and  trivial  article, 
and  who  is  taking  much  more  time  than  the  purchase 
warrants.  That  same  customer  will  want  other  and  bet- 
ter things.  Perhaps  he  is  "fussy,"  or  ove^  particular. 
Perhaps  he  can  see  small  and  infinitesimal  defects  upon 
articles  shown.  Perhaps  yotl  feel  like  urg^ing  him  to  go 
somewhere  else  and  buy.  Don't  do  it.  That  same  cus- 
tomer is  going  to  buy  a  great  many  articles  in  your  line, 
and  the  store  that  will  sell  him  these  various  things  is  die 
store  which  will  go  out  of  its  way  to  please  him. 


264 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


\ou  will  often  find  that  the  customer  who  is  finnicky 
about  some  trifle,  is  just  as  much  the  other  way  when  he 
comes  to  buy  a  watch  or  diamond.   Just  think  it  over  to 
yourself  this  way:   "Here  is  a  customer  of  the  sort  that 
no  one  wants.   Yet  in  a  lifetime  he  will  buy  a  great  deal 
of  jewelry    He  has  his  friends,  too,  whom  he  can  send 
our  way.^  It  there  is  any  way  under  heaven  that  I  can 
please  this  man  without  sacrificing  my  self-respect  or  my 
profit,  I  m  going  to  do  so."    The  customer  who  buys 
quickly  and  who  does  not  ask  unnecessary  questions  re- 
ceives good  treatment  wherever  he  goes.    Your  chance 
Ot  making  any  great  impression  on  him  is  very  small  It 
IS  with  the  man  who  is  so  constituted  that  he  makes  a 

^1^4  •  ^'^''^        ^^^^"^^  to  make  a 

strong  fn^d.  Think  of  this  when  you  next  strike  a  cus- 
tomer of  this  sort. 

Your  repairing  department  presents  another  "chance" 
luJ^  /"ends.  Many  jewelers  neglect  this  branch  of 
tiicu-  business,  particularly  the  repairing  of  clocks.  And 

l^i^Z^'^T^''^'^^'^  ^^^'^^  "^^^t     which  need 

repairing.   If  you  have  calls  for  doing  this  work  do  it 

promptly  and  do  it  right.   Charge  enough  to  cove^  your 

trnie  caning  for  ^d  deHvering  them,  but  do  the  work  and 

do  It  on  tune.   Youll  make  many  a  friend  in  this  way 

In  dosing,  let  me  just  remind  you  of  the  element  of 

chance  m  every  transaction,  and  as  the  rule  in  cards  is 

when  m  doubt.play  trumps,"  I  might  say,  in  every  trans-' 

tS^'     ^"""^         ^^^^    '^""''^'y  p^- 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS, 


26s 


CHAPTER  LXX. 


PROFITING  BY  EXPERIENCE. 

Making  Lessons  of  the  Past  Help  in  tiie  Future— Experience 
Gained  Through  Mistakes  it  Worth  its  Cost— The  In- 
sistent Demand  lor  Accommodatioii— Planning  Advertis- 
ing  for  the  Newspaper  and  the  Show  Window— The  Fu- 
ture Depends  on  Satisfied  Customers. 

THERE  are  people  wlio  obtain  a  living  (I  almost  said 
earn  a  living)  by  j^retending  to  look  into  the  fu- 
ture for  other  people,  and  through  the  informa- 
tion thus  acquired  to  be  able  to  advise  their  patrons  just 
what  to  do  in  order  to  achieve  the  desired  result.  Thus 
we  hnd  fortune  tellers,  clairvoyants  and  palmists,  living 
in  out  of  the  way  parts  of  each  town,  in  houses  long  since 
discarded  by  ordinary  people,  and  yet  who  claim  to  be 
able  to  advise  customers  what  stocks  to  buy  and  what 
to  sell  in  order  to  win  in  the  stock  market;  who  will  tell 
a  person  whether  their  proposed  change  in  business  is 
wise  or  otherwise.  It  seems  strange  that  these  "failures" 
in  life  as  they  are  labeled  by  their  appearance  and  man- 
ner of  living,  can  hoodwink  any  sane  person  into  believ- 
ing that,  through  any  i>ossible  combination  of  circum- 
stances, they  could  be  able  to  tell  that  person  anything  of 
value  or  anything  which  he  did  not  already  know. 

However,  it  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  article  to  enter 
into  controversy  with  any  one  who  obtains  a  livelihood 
irom  such  methods,  or  with  those  who  through  charity 
or  mental  incapacity,  contribute  to  their  expenses.  The 
Good  Book  which  has  come  down  to  us  through  the  ages 
contains  this  very  apt  advice,  ''Forgetting  those  things' 
which  are  behind,  and  reaching  forward  for  the  things 
which  are  before,  I  press  toward  the  mark."  It  is  not 
sacrilege  to  use  this  sentence  in  connection  with  the  re- 


266 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


ttl^.T.^'^,  ^«       advocating  tlie  forget- 

in  ir^'       *«»««««nents  and  failures  of  the 
mi!;K        i"  ^«»s  a  man.    We  sliould  re 

in'thl  .J^J:'*'.  Y  '-ght  us  by  lard 

Sde  that  !L^L°'-*^I?"«=''      ^^■'^  not  de- 

would  wish^th'*"''^'  j"^'  ^vhat  ^ve 

wouia  wish  that  there  is  no  use  in  trvine    We  ^lin„u 

M;cf  1  '^'^!"'Von.occun-ence  for  men  to  make  mistake. 
Mistakes  m  buying  are  often 'made,  but  unless  the  buvo; 
has  been  reckless  in  his  purchases/ the  los    s  not  X 

no  t-.^o^i'srsjLriJ.a-^^^-s 
rf^SSi- Sff -"^'C- -  ^^^^^ 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS, 


267 


Nevertheless,  the  accommodation  to  the  ccwnmunity  is 
great,  and  is  not  only  appreciated  by  the  public,  but  is 
demanded  by  it.  Thus  it  is  with  some  articles  of  jewelry. 
The  demand  for  them  is  not  particularly  great  but  it  is 
insistent. 

A  customer  in  search  of  one  of  these  articles  will  nat- 
urally go  to  his  regular  jeweler's  for  it,  but  not  finding  it 
there  he  will  go  elsewhere  in  search  of  it,  and  the  store 
which  has  it  will  see  him  again.  "The  past  at  least  is  se- 
cure." No  need  to  worry  about  that.  To-day  is  here 
with  us  now  and  we  should  improve  each  shining  min- 
ute, for  to-morrow  it  will  be  a  matter  of  history.  Look- 
ing to  the  future,  we  should  strive  at  all  times  to  make 
each  succeeding  day  an  improvement  jon  the  preceding 
one.  How  can  we  do  this.  You  can  answer  for  your- 
self, as  the  writer  can  for  himself.  Goods  which  we  dis- 
cover to-day  to  need  attention  of  some  sort,  should  be 
put  in  proper  condition  so  that  the  returning  customer 
will  find  an  improvement,  and  having  been  partially 
tempted  the  day  before  will  be  a  quick  customer  to-day. 

"^'our  future  advertising  should  be  carefully  planned 
out  now.  There  has  been  such  a  great  change  in  jewelers 
the  past  few  years  that  nearly  all  of  them  are  advertis- 
ers to  some  extent,  and  in  some  way.  Most  jewelers  use 
small  space,  and  as  a  natural  consequence  do  not  get 
much  into  their  advertising.  It  is  a  mistake  to  try 
and  crowd  too  much  into  an  advertisement,  and  as  to 
quoting  i)riccs  in  a  newspaper,  it  means  practically  noth- 
ing. Better  give  general  talks  about  your  stock  or  store 
policy  and  then  make  your  price  quotations  in  your  show 
window  where  passers-by  can  observe  both  goods  and 
prices.  In  our  show  windows  we  should  typewrite  a 
few  short  sentences  about  our  store  and  stock,  and  then 
paste  the  paper  on  which  they  are  written  on  heavy  card- 
board so  as  to  make  the  sign  stable.  Take,  for  instance, 
a  card  like  the  following:  *'Our  future  depends  upon 
you.  You  must  be  satisfied  with  your  purchase  and  your 
treatment,  or  we  cannot  hold  your  future  patronage.' We 
are  here  to  please  you."  Oh  something  like  this :  "Here 


268 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


is  a  store  where  one  is  freb  to  come  when  he  ulease.  pv 

reason  for  Zt  dllV  j"^^^  i^''?  ^  satistactory 
transaction  whirjLeTp,^^^^^^^^ 

vinces  us  that  you  arela^'^C 
quest,  so  we  will  do  just  what  voTLv  n 
tl^at  the  request  un^elS^^^^    Yn,7^"  '"^^^^'^ 

knows  that  just  as  well  as  voH^  W  ^"^^^"^^^ 
predate  vou  -  courteTy  and  kindn^«  He  cannot  but  ap- 
he  certainly  will  mil  Jim  f  ^""^^^^  matter,  and 

make  up  to  you  over  and  over  thf^  rr^cf 
of  keeping  Ins  good  will.  ^  ^^^^ 

tpi^'th  ^"^"'^     "^^^^       ^'•^  booking  out  for    To  oh 

plemoreS^^Kotbl^^^^^^^ 

IS  the  fact  that  you  never  km^loy^^^^ 

going  to  be.    The  people  who  hZe  ^Iu^X  T  '. 

you  are  PracticaIIv\hrLgh  buyin^^^^ 

new  purcliaser  is  an  unknowHuantitv    T^!'  ""^'^^  ^^'^ 

tonier  as  though  he  ^vere  TLT n^l^*   T'^""*  ^^""'y  ^"S" 

your  success  de^nded  SL'hi:;.""^^  ^"^^^"^  ^^^^ 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


269 


CHAPTER  LXXI. 


THE  WELL  BALANCED  LIFE. 

Do  You  Sometimes  think  "What's  the  Use?"— Then  Change 
Your  Methods — Don't  be  a  Slave  to  Business  at  the  Ex- 
pense of  Your  Family— The  Almighty  Dollar  Never  Pur- 
duned  Health  or  Happiness — If  Business  Compels  Atten- 
tkm  Night  and  Day,  Better  Quit  and  Try  Something 
Blae— Cultivate  Your  Competitora  in  a  Social  Way. 

SOAIETIMES  when  business  is  dull,  or  its  cares  are 
multitudinous  and  wearisome,  one  is  inclined  to 
wonder  whether  it  is  worth  while.  The  man  who 
is  an  employe  has  done  his  full  duty  by  the  concern  when 
he  has  performed  the  work  which  is  his  to  do,  and 
whether  or  not  there  are  many  other  things  that  need  to 
be  done,  it  need  not  worry  him.  He  is  hired  for  a  spe- 
cific purpose,  and  when  he  fulfills  his  part  of  the  agree- 
ment he  has  done  all  that  can  be  expected  or  required 
of  him.  Not  so,  however,  the  owner  of  the  business. 
Not  only  must  he  perform  his  accustomed  tasks,  but 
he  must  perform  them  ofttimes  under  great  disadvan- 
tages. He  may  have  an  unusual  number  of  customers 
in  the  store  during  the  day  which  has  interfered  with 
the  progress  of  his  work.  Perhaps  this  may  necessitate 
his  remaining  after  the  store  is  closed  in  order  to  catch 
up.  This,  then,  is  where  the  employer  and  employe  are 
somewhat  differently  situated.  The  employe  works  so 
many  hours  a  day,  and  can  go  to  his  home  at  its  close 
free  from  all  care  about  the  business.  The  proprietor 
cannot  so  easily  lay  down  his  burden,  but  must  have  his 
business  continually  on  his  mind,  and  be  trying  to  devise 
plans  for  carrying  it  on  to  even  greater  success.  Some- 
times this  means  that  he  will  deprive  himself  of  relaxa- 
tion in  the  form  of  entertainment;  he  feels  that  he  must 


2/0 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


hZ^lT?  ^"^"ir  If      does  this 

It  means  that  even  if  he  can  count  himself  successful,  as 
theworld  counts  success,  his  Hfe  is  an  entire  failure 

wJr!r  T  ?^^^'  ^"'^"^  ^^'h^^^^^  a  "^a"  owes  as 

well  as  attrition  to  his  business.    His  prime  object  in 

conducUng  It  is  Aat  his  family  and  himself  may  enjo? 
^11?     u  w^^^d  s  pleasures  than  would  be  otherwise 

L     ""I  ^o  wrapped 

up  m  his  work  that  he  cannot  think  or  talk  of  anything 
^?  He  bccwncs  a  mere  figurehead  in  his  own  family 

S^r."^^^?^"  -^^^^-"^         and  tl  e 

money  earned  is  accepted  as  a  matter  of  course  and  en- 

fardy  free  from  any  sentimentality.  Now,  this  is  not  a 
^  condition  to  have  in  a  family.  The  man,  if  he  is  the 
ngbt  kmd  of  a  man,  is  worth  more  to  his  family  than  any 
money  which  he  can  earn  at  a  sacrifice  of  his  part  in  the 
soc^hfe  of  his  family.  The  almighty  dollar  is  almighty 
ilf^^  S*"^^'  but  It  never  yet  purchased  health  or  hai^ 
pmess.  Be  <^rcful  then  not  to  ofier  too  mucii  sacrifice 
of  your  own  individuality  at  its  altar  sacrmce 

your  fanuly,  it  means  that  you  must  have  a  certain 
amount  of  tmie  which  can  be  at  their  disposal.  You  will 
^«        f^'^'?  ^  their  society  when 

f^^.u  cares  of  business,  will  make  you  bet- 

ter able  to  cope  with  Ae  problems  which  confront  you  in 
tiie  busmess  worid.  Rest  is  said  to  be  a  change  of  scene 

em  you  11  never  solve  it  by  sitting  up  all  night  at  it.  But 
If  you  wdl  do  something  to  distract  your  mind  from  the 

lJ^ll^T?u  that  when  you 

again  take  the  matter  up  your  mind  will  more  easily  grasp 
the  details  and  more  quickly  reach  a  decision.  When  a 
man  is  physicaUy  or  mentally  tired  out,  he  will  often  be 
sent  away  for  a  change  of  scene,  because  in  the  change 
of  scene  h,s  mmd  will  be  carried  from  the  matters  whifh 
have  been  absorbing  his  attention  to  the  new  suS 
gested  by  di,  hills  and  valleys  of  the  new  c^ntJT  ^ 
Now  what  IS  the  use  of  waiting  until  you  are  ordered 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS,  271 


away  from  business  before  taking  the  much  needed  rest? 
You  can  just  as  well  so  arrange  that  sufficient  time  will 
be  given  you  to  restore  wasted  tissue.  If  you  were  to  be 
suddenly  taken  ill  and  confined  to  the  house  for  a  couple 
of  months,  somehow  or  other  your  business  would  get 
along.  Make  up  your  mind  that  you  w411  be  thorough  in 
your  work  while  in  your  store,  but  that  you  will  not  work 
after  hours  either  in  the  store  or  at  home,  unless  once  in 
a  great  while  it  becomes  necessary.  Do  not  be  a  slave  to 
your  business.  If  you  cannot  earn  enough  out  of  that 
business  during  the  daytime,  with  perhaps  keeping  open 
Saturday  evenings,  better  quit  and  get  into  something 
which  pays  better  or  where  the  work  is  easier.  Many  a 
watch  repairer  has  given  up  a  position  where  he  has  had 
comparatively  short  hours,  and  where  he  has  been  able  to 
save  money,  in  order  that  he  might  enter  business  in  a 
small  way,  and  after  opening  his  store  he  has  felt  it  neces- 
sary to  work  from  seven  in  the  morning  to  nine  and  ten 
in  the  evening.  Is  it  worth  while?  Not  if  you  figure  to 
get  more  out  of  life  than  a  few  paltry  dollars.  If  each 
jeweler  would  only  figure  that  his  business  w-ould  be  re- 
spected more  by  the  general  public  and  that  his  commer- 
cial standing  would  be  much  better  among  other  business 
men  if  he  closed  evenings,  and  met  them  in  social  ways 
at  clubs,  he  would  be  much  better  ofiF. 

There  is  another  line  of  sociability  which  each  should 
take  up,  and  that  is  with  all  the  other  jewelers  in  your 
own  town.  The  past  few  years  have  seen  wonderful 
changes  in  such  matters.  Competitors  there  are  to-day, 
but  through  social  intercourse  and  friendly  discussion  of 
trade  matters,  the  individual  jeweler  has  come  to  realize 
that  unless  he  can  make  a  profit  on  a  sale  that  he  might 
better  not  make  it.  The  jeweler  is  more  prosperous  to- 
day than  ever  before,  and  all  because  he  has  mixed  with 
his  fellows  and  found  out  that  the  well  balanced  life  de- 
mands that  he  develop  himself  along  social  as  well  as 
commercial  lines.  Show  the  people  that  you  are  human ; 
that  there  are  other  things  you  enjoy  besides  fixing 
watches,  or  selling  diamonds. 


2/2 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


t-ivi^    r>  1        carnage  and  take  your  lam  Iv  our  for  n 

is  thaf  Avli^tn        J^ne.sirange  thing  about  human  nature 
K's  Uiat  ^^hen  ycni  begin  to  show  the  public  that  vou  are 
getting  along,  and  are  not  so  closelv  r^nfi«^^  ♦ 
busniess,  just  that  moment  a  bt  of  Xpk  S^^^ 
^ne  you  their  patronage,  which  theTSe^iS 
^^'Sni''iJT''i  ^'^^^^  ob'servldon  ?h? ^^^^^^ 

J       J^^^  ^         Ijoy,  but,   ncdentallv  that  all 
play  and  no  work  is  even  worse    Tr..  or.^   •  ^'     .  , 

play  together  in  such  T  w.^  that'^^ou  wire^^^^^^^^^^^ 

wL    iv  "^^  "i^^^^i  work.    A\^e  are  all 

better  off  because  we  have  to  work  for  a  hvin^  It  L  thl 
crowding  of  an  extra  hour  or  two  on  to  a^flVead  full 
day  which  makes  us  wonder  whether  life  is  vvorth  I  ving 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


273 


CHAPTER  LXXII. 


SELF  SATISFACTION;  IS  IT  COMMENDABLE? 

Two  Sides  to  Every  Question — Easy  to  Overdo  a  FeeUng  of 
Self  Importance — Customers  Susceptible  to  a  Delicate 
Hint  of  Their  Influence — Lead  Away  from  Price  Argu- 
ment When  Other  Stores  are  Quoted — Selling  Reliable 
Goods  Only  Inures  to  Self  Satisfaction. 

ALMOST  every  subject  has  two  sides  to  it.  Even 
great  combinations  of  interests  which  are  detri- 
mental to  the  general  public  have  two  sides;  the 

inside  and  the  outside.  So,  too,  the  question  of  self-sat- 
isfaction lias  two  viewpoints,  one  of  which  will  prove 
that  self-satisfaction  is  desirable,  and  the  other  that  it  is 
harmful.  It  is  a  very  liard  proposition  to  convince  a  man 
that  }  uur  methods  of  doing  business  are  proper  and  that 
your  stock  of  goods  is  all  that  it  should  be,  and  you  cannot 
do  it  unless  you  hold  that  opinion  yourself.  The  question 
resolves  itself  into  this  one  thing:  A  man  must  so  live* 
and  so  conduct  himself  and  his  business  that  he  can  be 
well  satisfied  with  these  several  things.  Then  he  can 
very  easily  meet  all  comers.  Of  course,  one  may  be  sat- 
isfied with  his  condition,  when  he  ought  to  be  alarmed. 
He  may  feel  that  he  is  doing  everything  that  he  could  do 
to  promote  business  success  when  he  is  neglecting  im- 
portant details.  He  may  be  so  well  satisfied  with  himself 
that  he  gives  his  possible  customers  to  understand  that 
he  is  a  very  important  man  in  the  community  and  that 
their  trade  is  of  small  consequence  to  him.  Now,  we  all 
realize  that  it  is  of  utmost  importance  to  us  to  hold  our 
trade,  and  if  possible  to  get  more.  Because  we  seem  to 
be  achieving  a  moderate  amount  of  success  we  should 
not  assume  the  character  of  one  who  has  accomplished 
all  that  he  ever  expects  to  do,  and  that  we  do  not  need  to 


274 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


^^y  tocT""  ^"''"^'^  ^  ^^^^^  at 

f^Jllf"  have  competitors,  more  or  less,  altliough  we  of- 
SvJXllT"'  ^^^^  competition. 

om  Zil^^^^  vL*  ^'^^  gradually  gone  down  and 

out,  whric  the  younger,  more  zealous,  more  obliging  com- 
petitor  has  ma;eased  until  he  has  arrived  at  t  fe  dlth^^- 
ton  which  used  to  belong  to  the  old  store.   Th    is  w  "re 

Hs^l^ov^rf self-satisfaction  buses' 
It  IS  easily  overdone.  We  must  remember  tliat  our  cus- 

Sre  irtht  if"'       -^"^  ^^-^  about  human 

Utl     i  '  I  ^''^      susceptible  to  flattery.    We  all 

hke  to  feel  our  importance.  Thus  you  will  find  that  you 
must  give  your  ctfstomers  to  understand  that  their  p^t" 
ronage  is  important  to  you;  that  you  will  do  anvthinir 
withm  reason  to  obtain  and  hold  it.   This  you  can  do 

eTs^'lSrS^^^^  Eachofyorcu^tom- 
ers  likes  to  feel  that  they  are  important  factors  in  mak- 

lot  of  ^    V  ^"^^  J*  P°^^'  ^  whole 

lot  of  good.    Your  influence  is  worth  more  than  any 

amount  of  newspaper  advertising  we  can  do.   If  we  sat- 

iriLrh^  ^T«^  ^P^^^  ^  ^^^^  w^^d  to  your 
♦  perchance  you  ever  get  hold  of  a  piece 
of  goods  at  our  store  that  is  not  giving  satisfaction^  re- 
turn It  to  us  and  we  will  ,  cheerfully  niake  good  on  it  " 
Knowing  that  you  are  doing  the  right  thing  with  custJm- 
teriaS  .T^  fvhifh  wil  ml 
enally  a^d  you  m  doing  business.  It  assists  you  in  wait- 

sTw^^  ste^Ko^?^     ^^^^^  — '"^ 

IS  worse  than  folly.  You  demonstrate  that  you  are  lun 
"f^yoii  htgin  to  berate  him  or  his  store^  You  £ 

l^irr^tKn^^-^^^^  ^^^^  confessed  to  Jou 

customer  that,  m  your  opinion,  the  other  store  has  you 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


275 


beaten.  When  a  customer  mentions  the  fact  that  he  has 
been  looking  elsewhere,  and  suggests  that  he  thinks  he 
can  do  better  in  the  other  store,  maintain  the  same  man- 
ner and  demeanor  as  you  had  previously.  Do  not  change 
the  tone  of  your  voice,  or  act  as  thou|^  you  thought  that 
his  looking  elsewhere  would  have  any  bearing  on  the  case. 
Argue  about  the  desirability  of  your  goods;  the  heavy 
we^t ;  the  genuineness  of  die  stones ;  the  workmanship. 
If  it  be  a  watch,  speak  of  its  many  good  features ;  its  ad- 
justments and  timekeeping  qualities ;  give  your  customer 
something  other  than  price  to  think  about.  Give  him  to 
understand  that  there  are  other  things,  and  many  of 
them,  which  perhaps  he  is  not  familiar  with,  which  deter- 
mine the  value  of  an  article  of  jewelry.  Also,  speak  of 
the  fact  that  your  interest  in  die  article  does  not  end 
when  you  have  delivered  same  to  him  and  taken  his 
money.  Tell  him  that  you  make  a  profit  on  every  article 
sold,  and  diat  he  will  never  hear  you  whining  because 
you  have  had  to  make  good  on  a  sale.  He  will  always 
find  you  as  ready  to  make  good  whenever  that  may  be 
necessary  as  you  were  originually  to  make  the  sale.  The 
jeweler's  guarantee  is  worth  somethmg,  and  must  be 
charged  for. 

Another  method  to  practice  which  is  productive  of  self- 
satisfaction,  is  to  handle  only  such  goods  as  one  can  safe- 
ly recommend.  Then  he  can  positively  assure  the  cus- 
tomer satisfaction  and  can  also  be  well  satisfied  himself 
with  the  sale.  He  does  not  have  to  look  for  the  return 
of  the  customer  with  a  complaint  at  a  later  date.  Too 
often  we  follow  out  the  line  of  least  resistance  in  a  sale, 
when  we  would  be  following  our  own  best  interests  and 
safeguarding  our  customer's  were  we  to  advise  the  pur- 
chase of  a  better  article.  It  is  so  easy  to  advise,  without 
trying  to  force  our  (pinions. 

Thus  we  can  say  to  a  customer  considering  the  pur- 
chase of  a  watch,  "Of  course,  it  is  not  necessary  to  buy 
the  most  expensive  watch  in  order  to  get  fairly  good 
timekeeping  qualities,  but  this  one  thing  is  positively  so, 
that  you  wfll  never  regret  the  purchase  of  as  fine  a  watdi 


2/6 


EVANS^S  ESSAYS, 


as  you  can  afford  to  buv    A  wo^r-K         j  , 

to  conform  to  c«?aS^feed  and 

keep  excellent  time  witK  furthW  a'  uinf  T-'"!" 

ment.  and  will  save  you  lots  of  time  during  a  Uiltull 
enough  to  make  dt  \l?^L^^ 

watch  as  you  can  afford  »  "  ^'^'^  ^ 

duct  your  business  so  thft  yS,  ^„  fL^ 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


277 


CHAPTER  LXXIII. 


SEE  OURSELVES  AS  OTHERS  SEE  US. 

Indifference  to  Public  Opinion  Not  a  Good  Business  Policy  

Take  an  Occasional  Look  at  Your  Store  from  the  Out- 
side—Appearance of  the  Stock  from  the  Customers* 
Viewpoint  is  Important— Marks  of  Prosperity  in  Keeping 
with  a  Display  of  Fine  Goods— Keep  All  in  Order. 

SOME  people  profess  to  be  absolutely  indifferent  to 
the  opinions  of  others.  They  pat  themselves  on 
the  back  that  this  mental  condition  is  theirs, 
lluwever  thai  may  be,  there  are  vcrv  few  men  or  women 
who  have  amounted  to  anything  at  all  in  this  world  who 
have  not  given  careful  consideration  to  the  opinions  of 
others.  In  fact,  it  is  through  the  expressed  opinions  of 
others  that  we  learn  whether  our  course  of^  action  is 
pleasing  or  otherwise.  A  merchant  prepares  what  he 
considers  a  trade  winning  advertisement.  He  inserts  it 
in  the  leading  papers  of  his  town,  or  he  mails  it  prepared 
in  attractive  form  to  his  prospective  customers  in  the  sur- 
rounding territory.  If  no  one  ever  mentions  that  adver- 
tisement he  is  at  a  loss  to  know  whether  it  was  of  any 
material  licnefit  or  whether  its  effect  was  not  directly  op- 
posite from  what  he  wished  it  to  be.  But,  if  an  occa- 
sional customer  was  to  mentk>n  some  article  particularly 
described  in  the  booklet  or  ad.  and  asked  to  see  it,  or  if 
some  quotation  is  mentioned  and  com.mcnted  on  favor- 
ably, then  he  has  learned  through  the  expressed  opinion 
of  his  customers  the  comiiicrtial  value  of  that  particular 
advertisement.  So,  no  matter  how  independent  we  pro- 
fess to  be  of  what  other  people  may  say  of  think  about 
us,  the  fact  remains  that  we  cannot  long  remain  in  busi- 
ness, unless  we  obtain  and  hold  the  respect  and  good 
opinion  of  our  customers.  This  being  the  case,  we  must 
consider  all  the  time  how  our  actions  appear  to  others. 


2/8 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


The  writer  was  in  a  jewelry  store  recently  where  the 
proprietor  had  very  neatly  and  tastefully  arranged  his 
stock  in  his  showcases  in  circles  and  semi-circles,  and  so 
on,  but  he  had  arranged  them  all  from  the  viewpoint  ob- 
tained from  the  back  of  the  cases.   They  looked  good  to 
him,  but  the  effect  upon  the  customer  could  not  be  other- 
wise than  amusing.    If  he  had  gone  on  the  other  side  of 
the  counter  and  tried  to  take  the  viewpoint  of  his  cus- 
tomers he  would  have  seen  his  mistake.  The  trouble  was 
that  he  was  not  considering  his  customers  at  all  when  he 
arranged  the  display.   Cultivate  the  habit  of  getting  on 
the  other  side  of  the  counter.  Also  cultivate  the  habit  of 
discussing  your  business  policies  with  some  of  your  best 
customers,  inviting  their  criticism  of  your  methods,  or  at 
any  rate,  their  comments.   In  this  way  you  will  some- 
times learn  that  what  you  have  considered  your  strongest 
selling  methods  are  in  reality  merely  consumers  of  en- 
ergy.  "As  others  see  us."  That  phrase  if  properly  un- 
derstood and  appreciated  will  tend  to  make  us  more  care- 
ful of  our  personal  appearance. 

If  the  traveling  representatives  who  call  with  regular- 
ity  were  other  than  what  they  are,  neat  and  cleanly,  how 
much  attention  would  they  receive  from  you?  The  occa- 
sional representative  with  the  soiled  collar  and  ragged 
necktie,  baggy  pants,  and  three  days'  growth  of  whiskers 
on  his  face,  may  have  concealed  in  his  grips  some  of  the 
most  desirable  goods  which  have  ever  been  brought  into 
your  store,  but  the  chances  are  that  he  will  never  show 
them  unless  the  name  of  the  house  or  his  previous  ac- 
quaintance entitles  him  to  that  privilege.  It  is  s<J  in  y<Mir 
own  experience  with  your  customers.  If  you  present  a 
prosperous  appearance  and  take  the  proper  care  of  your- 
self, keeping  a  clean  face  and  avoiding  shaggy  hair,  you 
will  find  that  your  appearance  will  assist  materially  in  the 
selhng  of  goods.  If  your  appearance  is  sudi  that  you 
seem  to  harmonize  with  the  surroundings  and  the  class 
of  merchandise  displayed,  the  attention  of  the  customer 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


279 


will  be  taken  from  wonderment  at  your  careless  appear- 
ance, to  the  beautiful  character  of  the  goods  displayed. 

Perhaps  this  last  sentence  is  a  little  vague.  \Vhat  the 
writer  is  trying  to  impress  upon  you  is  the  fact  that  un- 
less your  personal  appearance  is  what  it  should  be  for 
one  who  sells  fine  goods,  it  will  jar  so  upon  the  sensibili- 
ties of  the  prospective  customer  that  they  cannot  get 
away  from  you  long  enough  to  think  about  or  buy  your 
goods.  For  instance,  if  you  were  invited  to  attend  a  din- 
ner at  the  home  of  a  wealthy  gentleman,  you  would  not 
be  at  all  surprised  to  have  the  door  opened  by  a  well 
dressed  servant,  but  you  would  be  immensely  startled  to 
have  that  same  door  opened  by  a  servant  not  properly 
prepared.  Being  well  dressed  does  not  necessarily  mean 
being  expensively  dressed ;  nor  does  it  necessarily  require 
a  red  necktie.  In  fact,  the  well  dressed  man  is  one  who 
is  so  outfitted  that  everything  harmonizes  to  such  an  ex- 
-  tent  that  no  attention  is  called  to  the  clothes  at  all,  but 
merely  there  is  the  general  good  effect. 

An  extra  suit  of  clothes  a  year  perhaps,  a  few  more 
dollars  in  gentlemen's  furnishings,  a  trifle  more  for  laun- 
dry work,  shoe  shining,  and  other  accessories  of  the  real 
gentleman,  and  you  have  created  an  impression  (among 
those  with  whom  you  desire  to)  of  being  one  who  is  pros- 
pering in  his  chosen  field  of  work ;  and  if  there  is  any  one 
thing  which  does  more  than  another  to  l:oost  one's  busi- 
ness, it  is  to  have  the  appearance  of  success.  Do  not 
ever  allow  yourself  to  be  in  such  condition  regarding 
your  clothes  that  you  are  ashamed  to  co  ne  forward  and 
wait  upon  your  wealthiest  or  most  cultured  customer.  If 
you  are  in  the  mental  condition  which  usually  accom- 
panies such  dress  or  neglect,  you  cannot  get  it  out  of  your 
mind.  You  are  not  at  your  best  in  waiting  on  them,  and 
really  welcome  their  early  retirement  from  the  store. 
Such  ought  not  to  be  the  case.  \\'e  ought  to  welcome  the 
visits  of  every  possible  customer  and  ought  to  feel  at 
home  in  waiting  on  any  of  them.  Just  consider  how 
others  view  you  and  your  store.  Remeiiber  that  you 
cannot  allow  your  store  to  present  the  appearance  of  neg- 


28o  EVANS'S  ESSAYS, 


lect  any  more  than  you  can  allow  yourself  to  present  the 
same  appearance.  There  are  certain  goods  in  stock  that 
are  not  shown  as  olten  as  some  others.  How  easy  it  is  to 
let  these  trays  and  their  contents  accumulate  dust  and 
tarnish,  and  conseciuently  rex  eal  to  the  possible  purchaser 
the  tact  that  you  have  not  sold  nor  did  you  expect  to  sell 
any  ot  these  goods. 

^  Every  department  of  your  store  should  be  continuaUy 
m  order.  "As  others  see  us."  Renieni])cr  that  your  own 
opmion  counts  for  but  little,  except  that  a  man  must  have 
his  own  respect  before  he  can  gain  that  of  others.  It  is 
tne  other  fellow  who  spends  his  money  at  your  store  It 
IS  his  good  opmion  that  counts.  Strive  to  get  that  good 
opinion.  The  columns  of  your  paper  mav  teem  with  well 
written  advertisements,  and  yours  mav  be  among  the  best 
of  them,  but  unless  the  statements  there  made  are  en- 
dorsed by  the  appearance  of  your  store  and  yourself  and 

tZT^;r' " 

Robert  Bums  once  said,  and  so  truthfully  wad 
some  power  the  giftie  gie  us,  to  see  oursel's  as'ithers  see 

^  ^•^^''^  '"'^  '^'^  ^''''^  ^^-^^^s  this  little 
sermonette.  Think  it  over,  and  then  write  down  in  the 
tablets  of  your  memory,  "As  ithers  see  us  " 


EVANS'S   ESSAYS.  281 


CHAPTER  LXXIV. 


OPTIMISM  IN  BUSINESS. 

AU  SucceMfnl  li«n  Have  Been  Optimistic— What  Man  Has 
Done,  Man  Can  Do— Contsgion  in  a  Look— Confidence  in 
Self  and  Goods  Help  to  Make  Sales— Lsck  of  Assertative- 
ness  Prevents  Snccess  Act  tiie  Part  of  tiie  Successful 
Man. 

MOST  business  men  are  optimistic ;  all  successful 
ones  have  been  optimistic.  To  attain  the  respect 
of  the  community  in  which  we  live  requires 

that  we  must  first  of  all  have  respect  for  ourselves  and 
our  abilities.  So,  too,  if  we  wish  the  public  in  general  to 

consider  our  business  to  be  a  successful  one,  we  must  ac- 
quire that  spirit  of  optimism  which  will  enable  us  at  all 

times  to  inspire  confidence  in  our  ability  to  win  out  in  the 
battle  of  life.  The  habit  of  thinking  bright  thoughts  will 
help  us  over  many  a  dark  spot  in  our  business  career.  For 
instance,  we  all  have  days  which  are  dull ;  when  things,  if 
they  go  at  all,  go  wrong;  such  days,  if  pondered  over, 
will  make  one  despondent  regarding  his  business.  But  if 
he  can  always  think  of  the  brighter  days  past  and  to  come 
he  will  be  so  filled  with  hope  and  encouragement  that  all 
the  dullness  of  that  particular  day  will  be  lost  sight  of. 
For  example,  one  month  may  run  considerably  behind  the 
same  month  of  a  year  ago.  We  might  feel  discouraged, 
but  if  we  will  look  up  our  records,  we  might  find  that 
during  the  month  in  question  we  had  sold  several  large 
diamonds  or  expensive  watches.  If  this  be  the  case,  we 
should  not  feel  discouraged,  but  be  filled  with  hopes  that 
on  some  day  soon  we  may  run  across  a  few  equally  good 
customers,  who  will  bring  up  the  average  of  the  present 
month. 

Always  remember  that  what  man  has  done,  man  can 


282  EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


do.    Do  not  think  that  because  von  have  had  unusually 
good  business  in  the  past  few  months  and  the  present  one 
IS  quiet  that  it  signifies  that  hard  times  are  with  us,  and 
that  the  best  thing  you  can  do  is  to  tell  every  customer 
who  comes  into  your  store  that  "business  is  quiet."  The 
best  thing  you  can  do  at  any  time,  whether  business  is 
brisk  or  slow,  is  to  talk  things  up.   Give  people  to  under- 
stand that  whatever  conditions  prevail  elsewhere,  you 
are  perfectly  satisfied  with  the  business  you  are  doing  It 
IS  said  that  a  look  is  the  most  contagious  thing  that  there 
'u-  •^^^^^^^>'      ^^'^^^  a^^ee  that  this  is  so.    The  truth  of 
this  statement  can  be  easily  tested  by  standing  on  a  cor- 
ner  and  looking  up  into  space.    Before  you  have  looked 
two  minutes  you  will  have  gathered  a  crowd  of  star  gaz- 
ers or  sun  worshipers  that  will  surprise  you.    No  ques- 
tions YiiXl  be  asked  or  answered.   The  mere  fact  that  you 
are  lookmg  for  something  in  the  air,  will  be  sufficient 
reason  for  passing  throngs  to  stop  and  take  a  look,  too 

Your  looks  will  also  tell  to  the  public  whether  things 
are  what  they  ought  to  be  or  not.  Then  your  remarks 
arc  very  likely  to  be  quoted  in  different  places.  One  must 
figure  on  this  fact  and  guard  accordingly.  Your  newspa- 
per advcrtismg  man  who  calls  in  to  see  vou  ai)out  more 
space,  or  the  renewal  of  your  contract,  will  notice  what 
your  reasons  are  for  not  acceding  to  his  wishes.  If  you 
do  not  wi^  to  renew  your  contract  it  is  not  necessary  to 
tell  hmi  tiiat  business  is  slow,  and  you  cannot  afford  it 
We  runs  into  other  business  men  during  the  day  and  he 
may  quote  your  expressbn  about  business,  and  almost  be- 

v^n  irJS^J  '^'  impression  is  gaining  ground  that 
you  are  not  doing  the  business  you  were  a  vear  or  two 
ago.  When  your  customers  or  friends  ask  you  about 
business,  it  is  not  necessary  to  say  anything  which  is  un- 
true. Business  conditions  should  always  be  at  least  satis- 
factory for  the  tune  of  the  year.  Such  a  statement  an- 
swers your  inquirer  and  sends  him  away  with  the  opinion 
that  everything  is  well    To  answer  him  that  businesses 

r         J"!^''       *  to  make  the  plunge 

which  he  had  anticipated  doing  when  he  entered  your 
store.  He  gets  a  sudden  thought  that  perhaps  the  money 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


283 


which  he  was  going  to  hand  you  in  exchange  for  a  piece 
of  goods,  may  yet  be  needed  for  something  less  ornamen- 
tal but  more  useful 

Very  often  we  lose  a  possible  sale  to  a  friend  who  has 
called  in  to  see  us  so  often  that  we  hardly  consider  them 
as  probable  customers,  and  answer  such  inquiries  as  they 
make  without  due  regard  to  the  eflFect  upon  a  possible 
sale.  Being  optimistic  also  makes  it  easy  for  us  to  talk 
enthusiastically  to  kx>kers  even  under  adverse  business 
conditions.  It  also  enables  us  to  keep  on  placing  goods 
attractively  in  the  windows,  althoui^  few  sales  have  re- 
sulted. It  enables  us  to  go  forward  while  our  competitor 
is  sleeping.  It  enables  us  to  impress  upon  the  public  the 
fact  that  we  are  here  for  business ;  that  our  stock  is  com- 
plete, up-to-date  and  overflowing  with  all  that  is  new  and 
desirable  in  the  line.  It  enables  us  to  talk  encouragingly 
in  our  advertisements.  In  short,  the  man  who  is  optimis- 
tic has  fought  his  greatest  battle  in  life,  while  his  pessi- 
mistic friend  is  "down  and  out"  before  the  actual  fitting 
has  conmienced.  If  you  step  up  to  wait  on  a  customer 
firm  in  the  belief  that  you  cannot  make  the  sale,  there  is 
not  one  chance  in  a  thousand  that  you  will  make  it,  but  if 
you  walk  up  to  that  same  customer  in  tiic  full  strength  of 
a  man  well  trained  to  the  business  and  with  a  supreme 
confidence  in  yourself  and  your  goods,  the  chances  are 
hundred  to  one  that  you  will  sell  that  customer  citficr  that 
day  or  some  other. 

The  poor,  disheartened  business  man,  who  never  ex- 
pects to  make  a  sale,  and  whose  only  weapon  is  price  cut- 
ting, deserves  pity  instead  of  contempt  The  man  who 
lacks  assertiveness  cannot  be  either  happy  or  successful. 
The  first  mention  of  a  competitor's  luune  in  his  store  is 
the  signal  for  him  to  haul  down  his  colors.  He  knows 
that  his  competitor  is  energetic  and  enthusiastic ;  in  short, 
he  knows  that  his  competitor  is  a  better  man.  He  is  some- 
what in  the  condition  of  the  little  Irishman  whom  a 
friend  met  in  a  battered  condition.  The  Irishman  looked 
as  though  he  had  been  run  over  by  a  steam  roller.  His 
friend  asked  him  what  had  happened,  and  this  was  his  re- 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


sponse:  "I  came  to  town  to-day  to  attend  my  sister's 
wedding.  When  I  rang  the  bell  at  the  house  the  door 
was  opened  by  a  little  bit  of  a  dude.  He  says  to  me,  Tut 
your  coat  and  hat  in  the  front  room  up  stairs.'  I  says  to 
him,  'Who  the  devil  are  you?*  He  replied,  'I'm  the  best 
man.'  And  begorra,  he  was." 

Never  regard  your  competitor  as  a  better  man  than 
yourself.  IVIeet  every  emergency  in  a  sale  in  a  quiet,  dig- 
nified manner.   You  do  not  know  what  your  competitor 
has  for  sale ;  doubtless  he  has  similar  goods,  but  one  thing 
you  do  know,  and  that  is  that  what  you  have  for  sale  is 
stylish,  durable  and  reasonable  in  price.   The  mere  fact 
that  a  customer  has  looked  elsewhere,  should  not  make 
you  lose  your  nerve.  The  fact  that  they  are  in  your  store 
signifies  that  they  have  every  confidence  in  your  ability  to 
serve  them.    Take  courage  from  that;  act  and  talk  en- 
couragingly, and  you  will  usually  win  the  day.    If  you 
act  as  though  you  were  afraid  to  have  a  customer  look 
elsewhere  they'll  look  anyway,  and  probably  will  not 
come  back.   When  a  customer  decides  to  look  elsewhere 
before  buying,  always  send  them  away  with  the  thought 
of  some  particular  piece  of  goods,  and  the  thought  ex- 
pressed that  you  expect  them  back  after  it.  Shakespeare 
has  said  that  "All  the  world's  a  stage  and  all  the  men  and 
women  merely  players."  Act  your  part  weU,  and  remem- 
ber  that  that  part  is  of  tlie  successful  business  man. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS, 


285 


CHAPTER  LXXV. 


THE  BORDER  LINE. 

The  Boundary  Between  Progress  and  Retrogression — The 
Unsuccctsfiil  are  Soon  Forgottenr— Keeping  of  Promises 
Makes  for  Better  Business — Customers  Who  Seek  a  False 
Aasnranoe— A  Good  Name  the  Best  Asset  in  Business. 

BOUNDARY  lines  between  countries  are  often  the 
source  of  international  trouble  and  discord,  and 
there  is  also  the  boundary  line  between  right  and 
wrong.  The  man  who  cares  for  the  good  opinion  of  his 
fellowmen  will  always  be  found  on  the  right  side,  and 
will  never  make  even  temporary  recursions  across  the 
line  into  wrong. 

We  will  find  that  this  same  boundary  line  is  set  up  in 
business  life.  The  boundary  line  between  progress  and 
retrogression.  To-day  is  an  age  of  progress.  Very  lit- 
tle sympathy  is  felt  or  expressed  for  the  business  man 
who  gradually  allows  his  business  to  go  down  and  out. 
Other  more  progressive  men  are  occupying  the  center  of 
the  stage  and  the  ones  who  through  poor  management  or 
dishonest  practices  have  forfeited  their  claim  to  public 
patronage  are  soon  forgotten.  All  the  world  is  much 
ilike.  Each  man  and  woman,  each  boy  and  girl  admires 
success.  The  lives  of  the  men  who  have  made  history 
are  the  lives  of  the  successful  men  of  all  times.  The 
countless  failures  are  given  small  space  in  history.  It  is 
the  men  who  have  accomplished  that  for  which  they 
strove  that  have  had  their  names  engraven  upon  the  pub- 
lic mind. 

Tn  every  community  there  are  business  firms  whose 
names  are  household  words  in  the  homes  because  during 
the  long  years  of  their  business  career  they  have  sold 
goods  for  what  they  were ;  have  made  all  promises  good ; 


286 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


whose  guarantee  of  quality  was  as  good  as  a  government 
bond ;  who  never  spoke  ill  of  their  competitors,  but  tried 
to  obtam  patronage,  because  they  could  give  better  values 
and  better  service.    To  bring  this  lesson  down  to  our- 
selves:   Are  we  doing  those  tilings  which  make  better 
busmess?    Or  are  we  doing  those  things  which  mean 
that  sooner  or  later  we  will  go  down  and  out?   Is  your 
promise  good?   When  you  receive  an  order  to  call  for  a 
clock,  and  the  time  is  set  for  the  call,  usually  at  your  con- 
venience, do  you  always  have  vour  clock  man  at  the 
house  at  the  time  specified?    Or  do  you  wait  until  the 
customer  has  'phoned  several  times,  and  finally  compelled 
you  to  come  for  it,  or  become  tired  of  your  methods  and 
sent  the  work  elsewhere?   If  you  lose  a  customer  in  that 
way,  on  a  clock  job,  do  you  think  that  you  can  still  have 
their  patronage  in  other  lines,  or  do  you  think  that  the 
second  jeweler  will  have  a  chance  to  sell  something  which 
otherwise  would  naturally  have  come  to  you?    So,  too, 
with  your  work,  as  you  take  it  in.  Are  you  a  good  pVom- 
iser?   Is  it  your  desire  to  be  accommodating  to  such  an 
extent  that  you  promise  everything,  and  then  continually 
fail  to  make  good?    In  taking  in  work  some  distinction 
should  be  made  between  the  doing  of  jobs  which  arc 
actual  necessities  and  those  which  are  merely  matters  of 
personal  adornment,  and  which  as  a  usual  thing  can  be 
gotten  along  without  more  easily.   A  pair  of  spectacles 
may  be  classed  as  a  necessity,  and  every  effort  should  be ' 
made  to  have  a  job  of  this  kind  done  at  once.  A  brooch 
tor  a  pearl  ought  not  to  be  a  matter  requiring  action  im- 
mediately, and  can  be  promised  a  couple  of  days  hence. 
Do  not  make  the  mistake  of  promising  everything  at 
once.    No  workman  can  do  himself  justice  when  he 
knows  that  for  every  job  which  he  is  doing  the  owner  is 
either  waiting  in  the  store  or  will  be  back  in  a  few  min- 

^^J-  H?"'^  ^'^^^      ^^^^  ^  ^rder  line  between  promise 

and  fulfilment. 

Then  in  the  matter  of  showing  goods  and  answering 
customer's  inquiries.  There  are  many  customers  who 
really  try  to  make  the  salesman  say  that  which  he  does 


EVANS'S   ESSAYS.  287 


not  wish  to  say^  and  which  he  knows  is  not  true.  They 
wish  you  to  teU  them  that  everything  is  14-karat  gold, 
and  that  all  stones  in  pins  and  rings  are  genuine.  Such 
customers  should  be  dealt  with  firmly  and  given  to  un- 
derstand that  differences  in  qualities  call  for  correspond- 
ing differences  in  prices.  That  an  imitation  stone  in  a 
scarf  pin  materially  lessens  its  price  from  what  it  would 
be  if  the  stone  was  genuine;  that  in  your  14-karat  gold 
goods  all  stones  used  were  genuine  and  selected.  In  the 
matter  of  diamonds,  one  wUl  often  find  that  purchasers 
would  like  to  be  assured  that  they  are  buying  the  finest 
quality  goods,  when  they  are  paying  the  price  of  the  infe- 
rior stones.  Never  make  statements  which  you  are  not 
willing  to  put  in  writing.  Ofttimes  a  customer  will  re- 
quest that  you  give  him  a  written  bill  of  the  goods  stat- 
ing what  they  are,  and  in  such  a  case  either  present  em- 
barrassment or  a  future  law  suit  ensues.  In  selling  sil- 
verware and  other  lines  explain  differences  in  manufac- 
ture which  call  forth  differences  in  price.  Give  your  cus- 
tomers to  understand  tiiat  all  your  goods  bear  a  fixed 
ratio  of  profit,  and  that  consequently  it  is  safe  to  infer 
that  the  more  expensive  goods  represent  better  value  and 
better  satisfaction  than  dieir  cheaper  imitators. 

Your  name  is  your  best  asset  in  business.  All  jew- 
elry stores  look,  to  a  certain  extent,  alike.  Your  custom- 
ers come  to  you  through  a  fancied  belief  that  your  honor 
and  integrity  are  of  a  higher  order  than  your  compet- 
itors. They  accept  your  word  regarding  gems  and  time- 
pieces unquestioned.  Your  prices  are  to  them  entirely 
satisfactory.  You  have  their  perfect  confidence.  This 
is  worth  money.  Once  lost  you  cannot  regain  it.  G>n- 
sequently  it  is  absolutely  necessary  diat  you  shall  in  no 
manner  endanger  -  this  confidence.  You  must  advise 
against  certain  purchases  in  order  to  retain  it.  If  your 
motto  is  "Onward  and  upward,"  or  anything  of  a  similar 
nature,  you  must  saf^ard  your  customers'  interests. 
Retaining  a  customer's  confidence  by  fair,  square  dealing 
will  go  a  long  ways  towards  taking  us  from  the  border 
line  which  we  do  not  ever  want  to  cross.  The  land  of 


288 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


promise  is  progress.   The  land  of  oblivion  is  retrogres- 
sion. On  one  side  of  this  boundary  line  will  also  be  found 
neatness,  and  on  the  other  side  neglect.   A  few  minutes' 
time  spent  each  day  will  keep  your  store  neat  and  clean; 
the  same  time  can  be  easily  idled  away  without  l)cnetit  to 
any  one  or  anything.  The  "do  it  now"  habit  should  be 
estabhshed  m  your  store.  If  your  clerks  notice  that  some 
^V^e /novelty  goods  they  are  showing  are  discolored  and 
need  cleansing,  have  them  so  trained  as  to  the  policy  of 
the  store  that  they  will  not  say,  either  orally  or  mentally 
that  scMne  day  soon  these  goods  will  have  to  be  cleaned 
and  recarded."  Have  their  habits  of  neatness  and  clean- 
liness so  well  established  that  they  cannot  put  that  tray 
back  m  its  place  until  the  goods  have  been  put  in  their 
onginal  condition.  A  little  work  of  this  kind  every  day 
done  during  time  otherwise  wasted  will  carry  us  far  away 
from  the  imaginary  line  between  neatness  and  neglect. 
To-morrow  is  mdefinite.   To-day  is  ours.   Let  us  use  it 
to  the  best  advantage  in  promoting  our  interests.  Let  us 
resolve  that  each  day  and  week  and  year  shall  find  us 
further  and  further  away  from  the  border  line,  into  the 
land  of  promise  and  progress. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS.  289 


CHAPTER  LXX\  I. 


KSBPING  EVERLASTINGLY  AT  IT. 

Necessity  of  Methodical  and  Consistent  Work— Success  Not 
Achieved  by  Plunging— Even  "Plunging"  Has  its  Good 
Attributes — Constant  Dripping  Better  than  an  Overflow — 
Value  of  Outward  Appearance— Criticise  the  Aspect  of 
Your  Own  Store— Satisfy  Unspoken  Demands  of  Pros- 
pective Customers. 

IN  this  age  of  keen  competition  one  cannot  expect  to 
achieve  success  at  a  single  plunge.    One  cannot 
make  a  striking  window  display,  write  a  trade  win- 
ning advertisement,  and  then  take  his  position  at  the  cash 
register  or  office  window  and  pay  attention  only  to  the 
making  of  change  and  entering  of  sales.  The  strenuous 
life  is  very  much  in  evidence  in  the  business  world.  Each 
business  man  is  straining  every  nerve  and  muscle  to 
make  things  turn  in  his  direction.   Fortunately  for  some 
of  us,  all  do  not  work  steadily.    They  have  periodic 
times  when  they  feel  like  pushing  hard  for  business; 
they  work  spasmodically,  with  enthusiasm  and  vim,  but 
they  do  not  "keep  everlastingly  at  it."   In  every  walk  of 
life  we  sec  the  brilliant  young  man  distanced  by  the 
slower,  more  methodical  and  more  consistent  worker, 
whom  some  are  pleased  to  denominate  the  'plugger." 
The  "plugger"  realizes  that  he  must  work  hard  in  order 
to  keep  even  with  his  more  brilliant  fellow,  and  thus  ac- 
quires the  habit  of  hard  work,  the  habit  which  is  worth 
more  than  any  system  of  short  cuts  in  business  that  could 
be  invented.   To  the  business  man,  to  whom  everything 
comes  easy,  it  is  almost  impossible  to  pursue  the  even 
tenor  of  his  way  under  adverse  circumstances.    He  is 
what  may  be  termed  a  fair  weather  sailor,  who  gives  up 
easily  when  storms  overtake  him.  But  the  man  who  has 


290 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


acquired  the  liabit  of  keeping  everlastingly  at  it.  and  who 
does  not  expect  to  get  anything  easUy.  woVks  eve^harder 
when  business  ,s  dull  than  he  does  ^der  any  other  dr- 

cumstances.  '  ^"'"^ 

This  steady  purpose  of  the  mind  implies  to  everv 

Cn:VJl  T  bSte'Tsut 
;  Z,1n,^i       *^'^!«»»«>t  appearing  day  after  day,  with 

Lested  fn^^'f'"*^,'*  ^2'  V""  ^"^  ^  same  money 
invested  in  a  few  laige  display  advertisements.  Your 

name  and  business  and  store  policy  can  be  deeply  ini- 

away  which  could  not  be  accomplished  by  a  few  bil 
P  unges  in  space.  So  in  any  dejlrtment  o^f  your  bus^ 
ne.s.   The  care  of  your  goods  requires  continual  activ- 

bui.dVr^J.f  ■  ?^  year  deaning  up  wni  nev  r 
bu  d  a  reputation  for  an  up-to-date  stock;  your  store 
mus  be  clean  all  the  time.  The  woodwork  in  your  fix- 
unt!  ^  do  not  w^t 

r*""         «yes  t™"ed  to  look  for 
Sas    al't.  .T"-  ««t  *e  washing  of  your  cut 

,  '='?aning  of  your  silver  be  semi  -annual 
CAcnts.   Goods  of  this  character  depend  upon  their  hril 
hancy  and  polish  for  their  salabilitrTlieTnV  way  ttt 
cut  glass  ,s  superior  to  its  imitations  is  in  its^bdHmn  v 

mTIZ  nn.h— ?  f  ^^^^^^  ""^'^^  <^Jean  an'd 
ortrnlr      u^u^  ^"^^^     *  ^oup  tureen 

or  lernery  which  is  yellow  with  tarnish.  Your  custom- 
ers buy  jewelry  and  silverware  because  its  attLtTvene^s 
and  beau  y  appeals  to  them.  You  buy  the  got.ds  for 
stock  for  the  same  reason.  If  the  goods  which  your  deal 

can  be  cttl^""  them?  And  yet  you  know  that  they 
can  be  cleaned  up,  and  can  form  some  kind  of  an  iden  nf 
how  they  would  look  after  that  operatirls  performed 
Real  estate  men  realize  fully  th^  'Wn  lookSh  on  the 
outward  appearance/'  and  consequently  you  usLhT  find 
houses  offered  for  sale  resplendent  in  a  new  coat^f  Unt 
which  covers  a  multitude  of  defects.   If  thrhouse  w^^^ 


EVANS'S   ESSAYS,  291 


left  unpainted  it  would  create  within  the  mind  of  the  in- 
tending purchaser  the  idea  that  it  had  been  n^ected,  and 
make  him  mudi  more  critical  about  the  interior  of  the 
house  than  he  otherwise  would  be. 

So  it  is  with  a  jeweler's  prospective  customers.  They 
have  in  mind  the  purchase  of  an  article  for  personal  use 
or  to  give  to  a  friend.  Your  store  is  familiar  to  them  as 
a  trustworthy  place  to  do  business.  But  it  is  not  the  only 
place  which  is  so  known.  It  is  perhaps  the  most  con- 
veniently located;  consequently,  the  intending  purchasers 
come  there  first.  On  entering  the  store  they  observe  that 
everything  presents  the  appearance  of  neatness,  your 
showcases  are  clean  and  devoid  of  useless  booklets  and 
things  along  its  glass ;  your  goods  arc  tastefully  arranged, 
goods  of  like  character  being  in  proximity  to  each  other ; 
Sie  velvet  has  not  an  accumulation  of  dust,  and  the  goods 
themselves  are  bright  and  fresh  looking.  If  you  have 
anything  at  all  at  the  price  they  are  willing  to  pay,  do  you 
think  diat  you  are  in  any  danger  of  losing  the  sale?  On 
the  other  hand,  if  untidiness  and  n^ect  were  every- 
where apparent,  don't  you  think  that  perhaps  they  would 
take  a  trip  to  some  other  store  before  purchasing?  And 
then  when  tfiey  left  your  store  you  would  make  the  men- 
tal excuse  that  they  were  "just  looking.''  Try  and  be 
critical  with  yourself  and  your  store.  Put  yourself  in 
the  position  of  a  customer  and  sec  how  the  general  as- 
pect would  impress  you. 

Diligence  in  business  always  will  bring  a  satisfactory 
reward.  Keq>ing  everlastingly  at  it  docs  not  require  that 
you  devote  any  more  hours  to  your  business  than  you  do 
at  present.  What  it  does  require  is  that  you  make  every 
move  count;  that  you  take  up  to-day's  work  where  you 
left  off  yesterday,  and  having  once  laid  out  a  course  of 
action  to  pursue  it  to  the  end.  If  jewelers  could  have 
someone  poke  tfiem  along  about  keeping  things  neat  and 
dean  about  their  stores^  as  they  have  them  pushing  them 
along  with  the  repair  work,  they  would  keep  the  6ne  up 
as  they  do  the  other.  Your  customers  demand  that  you 
do  certain  work  for  them  on  certain  days,  and  because 


292 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


}ou  do  not  wish  to  incur  their  displeasure  you  get  the 
work  done  on  those  days.    But  you  are  your  own  hoss 
abmit  store  management  and  store  policy.  If  about  twen^ 
ty-hve  of  )  our  customers  would  stop  in  your  store  every 
day  or  week  and  tell  you  that  unless  you  change  that 
window  display,  or  write  up  a  new  ad^  or  paint  your 
store  front  or  clean  up  your  silverware,  that  they  in- 
tend to  do  their  trading  elsewhere,  it  is  my  opinion  that 
you  would  get  busy  and  that  after  a  month  or  so  of  this 
nagging  you  would  have  your  store  in  such  shape  that 
positively  no  criticism  could  be  oflFered.  But  we  are  aU 
free  agents  in  this  matter.   The  only  way  our  customers 
can  show  us  that  they  disapprove  of  our  laxity  is  by  trad- 
mg  in  a  more  businesslike  store,  and  as  a  usual  thing  we 
never  know  it.   In  a  business  such  as  the  grocery  busi- 
ness, one  can  tell  when  he  gains  or  loses  a  customer,  be- 
cause the  purchases  are  made  so  steadily,  but  in  our  line 
there  is  absolutely  no  way  that  we  can  tell  when  any  par- 
ticular customer  is  going  to  need  something.  Hence 
arises  the  necessity  of  "keeping  everlastingly  at  it."  And 
m  addition  to  the  financial  returns  from  diligence  on  our 
part  comes  the  satisfied  feeling  which  only  comes  when 
we  have  done  our  best.    But  when  we  remember  that 
where  jewelrv  stores  in  a  city  or  town  carry  almost  iden- 
tical  stocks,  the  only  way  that  one  store  can  obtain  a  lead 
upon  another  one  is  by  keeping  everlastingly  at  it.  and 
thus  becommg  pre-eminently  the  jewelry  store  of  the 


EVANS'S   ESSAYS.  293 


CHAPTER  LXXVn. 


PERSISTENCY  IN  A  GOOD  CAUSE. 

Lack  of  Ptriistsiit  Effort  a  Commoa  Panlt— Change  of  Win- 
dow  Ditplays  Should  be  Regnlar— Advertisiiig  Should  Be 
Planned  to  Work  With  Dressing— Bodi  a  Part  of  Store 
Sfstem— Price  C«rds  Need  Not  Show  Cut  Prices— Few 
Stores  are  Really  too  Exclusive  to  Mark  Prices  on  Goods. 

ALL  men  are  not  constituted  alike.  From  many 
standpoints  it  is  fortunate  that  this  condition  pre- 
vails. We  have  men  who  are  brilliant  at  times, 
but  who  lack  that  quality  which  is  so  necessary  to  success, 
and  which  is  at  times  denominated  stick-to-it-iveness. 
There  are  those  who  will  work  hard  when  everything  is 
encouraging,  but  who  lose  their  working  ability  whenever 
business  is  slow  or  discouraging  in  any  way.  There  are 
others  who  work  well  under  adverse  conditions  and 
who  will  immediately  abandon  all  conscientious  effort 
when  their  efforts  begin  to  produce  success.  They  feel 
that  their  work  is  done;  that  now  that  they  have  starttd 
the  ball  rolling  nothing  can  stop  it.  But  when  one  stops 
to  consider  diat  a  ball  never  rolls,  except  down  hill,  with- 
out some  force  behind  it,  it  ought  to  teach  us  that  our 
business  will  never  run  itself  except  in  one  direction,  and 
that  is  down  and  out.  Persistent  effort  must  move  a 
business  along  in  the  right  direction. 

Your  show  window,  if  dressed  properly  week  in  and 
week  out,  with  clean,  fresh  floor  coverings  and  curtains 
and  with  bright,  snappy  goods,  cannot  but  return  com- 
pound interest  for  the  time  you  take  in  getting  it  ready. 
But  you  cannot  decorate  a  window  once  nicely  and  then 
leave  the  same  goods  on  display  for  a  season.  That  par- 
ticular display  has  done  all  the  good  it  will  do  you  in 
from  three  days  to  a  week.  After  that  time  if  left  un- 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


disturbed  it  will  hurt  you.    No  matter  if  you  take  the 
goods  out  and  clean  them  and  replace  them  again  The 
change  is  not  sufficient.    True  enough,  all  your  custom- 
ers have  not  seen  that  particular  display,  but  you  cannot 
expect  to  have  every  one  see  each  display.    \\  hat  you 
have  to  cater  to  in  this  direction  is  the  passing  throng 
You  must  acquire  the  interest  of  the  public  in  vour  show 
windows.    You  must  obtain  and  hold  the  good  opinion 
of  the  shoppers  for  your  up-to-dateness  in  the  matter  of 
window  displays.    If  you  can  once  get  the  ladies  in  the 
nabit  of  looking  in  your  show  windows  you  have  fought 
and  won  a  great  battle.   You  can  never  obtain  this  great 
victory  unless  the  goods  are  changed  once  or  twice  a 
week.   The  same  goods  can  be  used  a  month  or  <^o  later 
but  by  that  time  you  will  have  thought  of  a  new  and  at- 
tractive way  to  display  them. 

The  store  advertising  is  something  akin  to  the  window 
display.    The  stores  which  change  regularly  their  win- 
dows also  regularly  change  their  advertising,  and  they 
usually  have  them  working  together.   One  becomes  care- 
less  m  such  matters  unless  he  establishes  a  custom  of  do- 
uig  certain  things  at  certain  times.    This  habit  once 
formed  becomes  part  of  the  store  svstem.   In  many  cities 
are  found  professional  window  cleaners  who  will  for  a 
moderate  amount  clean  your  windows  twice  a  week  and 
who  will  come  on  established  davs  at  regular  times  This 
system  on  their  part  compels  you  to  be  equally  syste- 
matic    You  know  that  they  will  be  at  your  store  on 
luesday  and  Friday  mornings  at  eight  o'clock.  Instead 
Of  postponing  the  event,  you  get  your  windows  cleaned 
out  ready  for  them,  and  while  the  work  is  going  on  eet 
the  new  goods  together  which  are  going  on  display  The 
newspapers  of  to-day  compel  a  man  to  change  his  adver- 
tisements regularly.    If  he  does  not  send  in  a  change  of 
copy  soon  enough  they  will  call  him  on  the  'phone  and 
arrange  to  have  a  boy  call  for  a  new  ad.  later  in  the  dav 
Newspapers  realize  that  they  demonstrate  their  lack  of 
business  when  they  allow  a  hardware  man  to  advertise 
lawn  mowers  m  winter  and  skates  in  summer.  The  same 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS.  295 


advertisement  left  standing  week  in  and  out  does  you  a 
positive  injury  and  costs  you  money  to  maintain  it. 

Plainly  marked  prices  on  goods  displayed  and  quoted 
in  your  advertisements  will  bring  you  business.  These 
prices  need  not  be  cut  prices  to  interest  the  public.  A 
beautiful  pendant  or  brooch  in  your  show  window  is 
merely  an  object  of  beauty  to  the  passer,  unless  there  is 
a  price  attached  to  it  which  indicates  that  the  cost  is  not 
of  such  a  character  as  to  prohibit  ownership.    We  must 
take  into  consideration  the  fact  that  in  many  jewelry 
stores  are  found  diamond  mounted  pieces  of  jewelry 
which  are  denominated  show  pieces.    The  jeweler  does 
not  expect  to  sell  them  very  often,  but  believes  it  gives 
his  store  an  exclusive  appearance  to  feature  designs  not 
found  in  every  store  of  the  kind.    Nevertheless,  if  the 
price  is  attached  to  the  article  it  will  attract  the  attention 
and  gain  the  interest  of  the  passer-by,  and  some  one  is 
going  to  buy  that  piece  of  goods;  not  just  that  day,  per- 
haps, but  later  on.    Some  jewelers  fear  to  display  prices, 
as  they  incline  to  the  belief  that  their  trade  is  of  such  a 
character  that  they  do  not  wish  to  purchase  their  jewelry 
in  a  store  which  displays  price  cards  on  jewelry.  Well, 
this  may  apply  to  stores  of  an  exclusive  character  in 
large  cities,  but  most  jewelry  stores  arc  neither  of  an  ex- 
clusive character  nor  located  in  large  cities.    Few  in- 
deed are  the  stores  which  can  truthfully  say  that  they  do 
not  depend  for  their  existence  upon  the  great  middle 
class  of  the  purchasing  public ;  that  class  which  buys  the 
most  jewelry,  and  in  which  there  are  the  greatest  num- 
ber of  possible  purchasers.    To  these  people  the  plainly 
marked  price  indicates  whether  the  article  which  pleases 
the  eye  can  be  considered  as  a  future  possible  purchase. 
One  great  fallacy  in  plainly  marked  prices  is  the  idea 
that  prices  plainly  marked  must  be  cut  prices.   This  is  a 
great  error.   Some  of  the  people  who  look  into  your  win- 
dows are  contemplating  buying  some  article  for  a  pres- 
ent.   They  may  have  the  impression  that  anything  in 
your  line  which  appeals  to  them  would  cost  more  than 
they  are  willing  to  pay  at  the  time.    But  if  you  have  a 


296 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


few  dainty  articles  attractively  displayed,  with  the  prices 
so  they  can  be  r<»d,  perhaps  they  will  see,  at  a  few  dol- 
lars more  than  they  expected  to  pay,  s<Hnething  which 
they  know  will  please.  The  sale  results  and  both  your 
customer  and  yourself  are  happier. 

Persistency  in  a  good  cause.  What  is  a  good  cause? 
Why,  the  sale  of  good  jewelry  certainly  looks  like  a  good 
cause  to  me.  Persistency  means  keeping  everlastingly  at 
It.  It  means  that  you  must  to-day  do  your  best  to  in- 
terest the  public  in  your  goods  and  to-morrow  you  must 
follow  up  yesterday's  work  with  conscientious  efforts 
along  the  same  Imes.  Many  people  are  persistent  in  di- 
rections which  arc  not  elevating.  How  often  we  hear  it 
said  of  some  young  man  who  has  embezzled  funds  from 
a  bank  or  business  house  and  has  covered  his  tracks  for 
years,  that  if  he  had  used  his  brains  in  a  good  cause  he 
could  have  made  just  as  much  money  honestly  as  he  had 
obtained  m  a  dishonest  manner. 

So  it  is  with  persistency.  We  may  make  ourselves  a 
bore  to  our  customers  if  we  persist  in  trying  to  sell  them 
goods  every  time  they  enter  our  stores,  so  we  must  be 
careful  not  to  overdo  the  matter.  However,  there  is  a 
vast  difterence  between  persistency  in  Showing  the  public 
our  up-to-date  hues  and  trying  to  force  the  public  to  buy 
them  the  first  tune  they  exhibit  the  least  interest  in  them 
Persistency  and  consistency  are  similar  in  sound  and 
should  be  coupled  jn  our  minds.  Together  with  other  of 
the  cardinal  virtues,  they  go  a  l(»ig  ways  with  us  on  the 
road  to  success. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


297 


CHAPTER  LXXVin. 


HEALTH  AS  AN  ADJUNCT  OF  SUCCESS. 

Opinions  Differ  in  Methods  of  Conducting  BntinesB— Keeping 
Store  Open  Beyond  Usual  Hours  Not  Conducive  to  Suc- 
cess Nor  Beneficial  to  Health— The  Tired  Man  Not  in 
Condition  to  Wait  on  Trado— Recreation  Necessary  for 
Best  Results. 

DIFFERENCE  of  opinion  is  said  to  account  for  the 
popularity  of  horse  racing.  So  long  as  the  world 
stands  there  will  continue  to  be  differences  of 
opinion  as  to  just  what  methods  one  should  follow  in  or- 
der to  achieve  the  greatest  amount  of  success,  but  there 
are  certain  fixed  principles  which  all  authorities  mention 
as  being  absolutely  necessary.  In  this  category  are  found 
honesty,  truthfulness,  promptness,  and  other  kindred  vir- 
tues. On  some  other  things  we  find  a  difference  of  opin- 
ion ;  at  least,  such  is  indicated  by  the  various  methods  of 
conducting  business  as  exemplified  by  different  jewelers. 
Many  feel  that  if  they  open  their  stores  early  and  keep 
them  open  as  long  as  there  are  any  possible  customers 
awake  and  on  the  streets,  that  their  industrious  habits 
and  strict  application  to  business  will  in  time  earn  for 
them  a  full  measure  of  success.  This  method,  however, 
is  worse  than  useless. 

In  your  own  experience,  how  many  jewelers  do  you 
know  who,  if  keeping  a  store  open  justified  any  consid- 
erable amount  of  business,  would  have  had  it?  And  yet, 
how  many  of  these  men  are  still  plugging  away,  spending 
every  waking  hour  either  in  their  stores,  or  on  the  way  to 
and  from  it.  Or  perhaps  they  have  realized  that  for  some 
reason  or  other  they  were  not  qualified  to  conduct  a  store, 
have  folded  their  tents  and  resumed  their  positions  with 
other  jewelry  concerns,  who,  although  they  closed  even- 


298  EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


togs  at  six  o'clock,  yet  in  some  tmknown  manner  were 
able  to  keep  a  number  of  men  working  while  the  owners 
spend  the  hours  of  business  in  waiting  on  trade,  devising 
window  displays  or  writing  business  bringing  advertise- 
ments. Thdr  evenings  are  spent  at  home  with  their  fam- 
ilies, in  social  entertainment,  or  at  their  dub.  In  eadi 
case  they  were  restoring  lost  vitality  and  fitting  them- 
selves iot  mort  arduous  work  in  their  business.  Another 
feature  to  consider  is  that  when  you  remain  in  your  store 
day  and  night,  you  are  not  maldng  acquaintances  who 
might  be  of  service  to  you  as  patrons  of  your  stcMre.  The 
only  ones  met  are  those  coining  to  the  store,  and  with 
these  only  you  cannot  have  much  of  an  acquaintance. 

Nothing  succeeds  «like  success.  The  appearance  of  be- 
ing successful,  of  being  able  to  do  those  things  which  so- 
dcty  does,  and  go  to  those  places  where  sodety  goes,  is 
worth  a  great  deal,  particularly  to  a  man  in  the  jewelry 
business.  We  do  not  realize  just  what  standing  we  have 
in  our  comnumities.  If  we  do  as  other  business  men  do, 
we  will  find  that  we  are  regarded  very  highly  from  the 
nature  of  the  business  in  which  wc  are  engaged.  If  we 
stick  close  to  the  bench,  we  cannot  but  be  regarded  as 
tinkers.  The  writer  does  not  discredit  the  watch  or  jew- 
elry bench.  Far  be  it  from  me  to  belittle  that  part  of  our 
business,  with  its  sure  and  satisfactory  returns,  but  wc 
must  not  tie  ourselves  too  dosmM||^at  same  bendi,  if 
for  no  other  reason  dian  because  (^|Kpltfa  demands  that 
we  have  relaxation  and  relief  from  the  grind  inddent  to 
a  business  of  this  kind.  If  a  man  is  tired  out  and  worn 
with  the  cares  and  duties  of  his  business,  if  trade  has 
been  pocM-,  and  he  is  wdl  nigh  discoura^,  he  is  in  no 
fit  condition  to  wait  upon  the  lady  or  ge^eman  who  en- 
ters in  a  buoyant  mood  in  search  of  a  present  for  tiidr 
daughter  who  is  gwng  to  graduate,  or  to  buy  a  wedding 
gift  The  jeweler  is  in  poor  condition  to  show  his  wares 
to  advantage  or  to  urge  the  desirability  of  certain  goods. 
He  is  in  exactly  the  right  condition  to  take  a  Imodc-out" 
blow  and  go  down  and  out.  His  powers  of  resistance  arc 
comi^etdy  weakened  and  he  is  in  no  condition  to  enter 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


299 


into  the  spirit  of  the  occasion.  He  cannot  suggest  suit- 
able gifts,  he  cannot  urge  the  desirability  of  the  line  of 
goods  of  which  he  has  the  best  selection.  In  short,  suck 
is  his  mental  and  physical  condition  that  he  welcomes  the 
speedy  departure  of  his  callers  and  urges  it  to  a  certain 
extent.  He  is  in  just  the  right  condition  to  talk  down 
business  and  general  conditions.  He  forgets  that  the  sale 
of  jewelry  depends  upon  prosperity,  especially  of  the  one 
considering  the  purchase.  He  talks  about  the  good  old 
times  when  things  were  lower  priced,  and  bewails  the  fact 
that  those  good  old  days  are  past  and  gone. 

The  man  who  has  spent  the  evening  before  attending 
a  good  concert,  or  at  the  house  of  a  friend,  or  quietly  at 
home,  reading  the  columns  of  his  favorite  paper  or  maga- 
zine, is  posted  either  through  reading  or  observation,  on 
all  the  latest  and  most  desirable  goods,  not  only  in  his 
own  line,  but  in  all  others.  He  is  in  a  position  to  discuss 
intelligently  the  latest  theatrical  successes,  or  the  tri- 
umphs of  the  favorite  prima  donna.  The  plots  of  the 
latest  books  are  familiar  to  him,  the  latest  fashions  in 
men's  and  women's  wearing  apparel  and  jewelry.  He  ii, 
prepared  to  suggest  seasonable  goods  to  his  trade,  and 
meet  their  objections  as  to  certain  goods  displayed.  For 
instance,  occasionally  a  customer  will  tell  you  that  such 
and  such  goods  are  not  being  worn,  that  they  are  not  in 
Style  any  more.  If  you  are  up  to  the  minute  on  such  mat- 
ters you  can  tell  them  positively  and  honestly  if  they  are 
mistaken. 

Success,  as  some  men  count  success,  consists  only  in 
the  accumulation  of  money  sufficient  to  procure  that  for 
which  they  or  their  family  have  great  desire ;  perhaps  it 
may  be  the  building  and  equipping  of  a  beautiful  home; 
the  acquiring  of  a  country  residence ;  the  ownership  of 
an  automobile ;  after  which  they  strive  to  pile  up  sufficient 
money  so  that  those  dependent  upon  them  may  never 
know  want  should  they  be  untimely  taken  oflF.  All  this 
is  certainly  commendable,  but  a  man  owes  certain  things- 
to  himself  and  family  besides  providing  them  w  ith  the 
necessaries  of  Kfe.  If  h«  is  the  right  kind  of  a  man  his 


300  EVANS'S  ESSAYS, 


own  personality  and  health  is  of  more  consequence  to 
those  who  love  him,  than  any  amount  of  money  which  he 
can  leave  to  them.  For  that  reason  it  is  compulsory,  to 
a  certain  extent,  that  a  man  give  himself  such  recreation 
and  relief  from  the  cares  of  business  as  to  make  possible 
the  keeping  of  his  health  and  sfMrits  at  the  highest  possi- 
ble pdnt  And  the  strange  part  of  this  is,  that  the  best 
care  a  man  gives  himsdf  the  better  results  he  gets  in 
salesmanship  and  general  work.  One  way  of  rels^catioii, 
me  which  combines  business  and  pleasure,  is  to  occasion- 
ally take  a  day  off  and  journey  to  a  neighboring  city,  call- 
ing upon  the  jewelers  who  arc  located  there.  You  will 
find  that  the  same  trials  and  vexations  which  oppress  you 
are  also  visited  upon  them;  that  human  nature  is  very 
much  the  same  wherever  you  find  it;  that  the  department 
stores  in  your  neighboring  city  also  carry  jewelry.  You 
will  find  that  your  jewder  friend  realizes  that  the  de- 
partment store  is  here  to  stay ;  that  the  department  store, 
as  well  as  taking  some  of  your  trade,  also  delivers  at  your 
doOT  a  large  crowd  of  prospective  buyers  of  jewelry  who 
otherwise  would  not  be  in  your  vicinity. 

Your  day  off  will  do  you  good,  and  you  will  return  to 
your  store,  with  its  accompanying  duties  and  responsibih- 
tks,  refreshed  and  invigorated  for  the  duties  which  con- 
front you  there.  Plan  now  for  your  summer's  vacation.. 
*'A11  work  and  no  play  makes  Jack  a  duU  boy." 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS, 


301 


CHAPTER  LXXIX. 


THE  JEWELER  AND  HIS  GUARANTEE. 

Stotements  Not  Warranted  in  the  Knowledge  of  Goods— Long- 
Time  Guarantees  of  Filled  or  Plated  Wares  Destroy 
Profits  on  those  of  Higher  Grade— Exaggeration  Makes 
Poor  Reputation— Sale  of  Quality  Goods  Should  Be 
Urged— Other  Lines  of  Business  Do  Not  Warrant  Goods. 

THIS  subject  is  not  a  new  one,  nor  is  it  one  which  is 
likely  to  be  adjusted  properly  for  some  time  to 
come.   Anxiety  to  make  sales  will  often  lead  jew- 
elers to  make  statements  which  their  knowledge  of  the 
goods  will  not  justify.   True  enough,  it  is  a  hard  matter 
to  conduct  a  jewelry  store,  and  to  handle  the  distribution 
of  your  goods  in  the  manner  which  you  really  wish  you 
could,  but  we  should  never  allow  our  desire  for  a  sale,  or 
the  importunities  of  our  customers  to  lead  us  to  guaran- 
tee low  priced  goods  to  give  unlimited  service,  because 
in  that  manner  we  are  going  ultimately  to  kiU  the  demand 
for  better  goods.  How  can  we  expect  to  receive  adequate 
prices  for  our  fourteen  and  ten-karat  goods,  when  we 
make  such  statements  as  we  do  about  the  gold  filled  and 
plated  articles  ?   The  same  question  applies  equally  well 
to  the  sale  of  sterling  silver,  when  we  arc  willing  to  guar- 
antee plated  goods  for  twenty-five  years.  Most  custom- 
ers are  desirous  of  getting  the  best  results  for  the  money 
expended.   If  they  can  buy  in  plated  ware  three  times  as 
many  goods  for  the  same  money  as  they  can  get  in  ster- 
ling silver,  and  you  are  willing  to  guarantee  such  unlim- 
ited wear,  who  can  blame  your  customer  for  choosiitf 
that  of  which  they  can  get  the  most  for  the  money  ?  We 
often  hear  jewelers  complaining  because  other  jewelers 
who  feature  fourteen  karat  jewelry  and  sterling  silver- 
ware sell  these  goods  at  such  moderate  prices,  and  yet 


302 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


they  do  not  realize  that  they  themselves  through  giving 

such  unqualified  guarantees  on  the  lower  quality  articles, 
almost  compel  the  dealer  in  high  grade  goods  to  sell  his 
products  at  aImost*no  prqfit  at  all  in  order  to  dispose  of 
his  stock,  because  he  cannot  offer  much  more  in  the  way 
of  a  guarantee  on  his  fine  wares  than  the  other  jeweler 
does  on  his  inexpensive  goods. 

A  real  trouble  with  the  jewelry  business  is  making 
guarantees.   A  customer  enters  a  jewelry  store,  and  if  it 
■  is  a  first-class  store  he  is  shown  first-class  goods,  and 
given  the  prices  which  are  proportionately  high,  and  yet 
not  unreasonably  so.    He  does  not  buy  at  that  store  but 
goes  on  to  another;  if  the  second  store  sells  lower  grade 
goods  and  extends  a  liberal  guarantee,  he  will  probably 
purchase  there.    In  other  lines  of  business  the  customer 
is  given  to  understand  that  if  he  uses  the  goods,  they  will 
wear  out.    In  this  business  it  seems  necessary  to  assure 
the  customer  that  he  can  use  the  goods  year  in  and  year 
out  for  a  lifetime,  or  practically  so,  that  during  this  and 
at  the  end  of  the  time,  the  goods  will  present  the  same 
rich  appearance  they  did  the  day  they  were  bought.  If 
your  customer  stopped  a  moment  to  consider,  he  would 
know  that  such  a  thing  was  an  impossibility  and  that 
when  you  made  the  statement  you  were  laboring  under 
a  delusion,  or  else  that  you  would  make  any  statement  in 
order  to  compass  a  sale.    Now,  you  do  not  want  to  ac- 
quire that  sort  of  a-reputation.   You  cannot  afford  to  be 
known  as  that  kind  of  a  man.   You  should  strive  to  be  in 
the  community  just  what  your  business  entitles  you  to  be, 
one  of  the  most  respected,  highly  honored  business  men 
of  your  city.    You  can  never  reach  that  exalted  station 
by  urging  the  purchase  of  cheap  goods,  which  show  but 
small  profits  and  are  really  undesirable  for  your  customer 
to  purchase.   When  dealers  begin  to  realize  that  all  they 
need  to  guarantee  to  any  customer  is  the  money's  worth, 
that  they  will  warrant  full  value  to  each  purchaser  for 
the  money  expended,  and  that  the  same  dollar  of  \  alue  is 
in  the  higher  priced  articles  as  is  in  the  lowest  priced  ar- 
ticle in  the  store,  then  indeed  will  his  s^es  of  the  better 
class  of  goods  steadily  increase. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


303 


Salesmanship  should  find  its  chief  exemplars  in  the  re- 
tail jewelry  trade.  Our  business  from  its  nature  gives  us 
many  telling  arguments  which  we  can  use  to  urge  the  de- 
sirability of  our  different  lines  of  goods.  Sterling  silver- 
ware should  be  urged  to  the  customer  who  is  considering 
a  purchase  of  tableware,  because  of  its  permanency  in 
beauty  and  lasting  qualities/  Never  issue  such  statements 
about  your  plated  goods  as  some  dealers  do,  to  the  effect 
that  "These  goods  will  last  you  a  lifetime,"  or,  "You  do 
not  need  to  pay  more  to  get  as  good  goods  as  you  need  to 
have  in  your  house."  Naturally,  we  will  have  to  sell 
some  plated  goods,  but  we  should  choose  choice  patterns 
and  explain  to  customers  what  they  can  reasonably  ex- 
pect in  the  way  of  service  from  them.  You  will  find  that 
your  customers,  as  a  general  rule,  are  reasonable.  They 
are  just  as  liable  to  purchase  plated  ware  from  you  when 
you  tell  them  it  will  wear  a  reasonable  length  of  time,  as 
when  you  tell  them  it  will  wear  twenty-five  years. 

There  is  another  feature  in  this  matter  which  we  often 
lose  sight  of,  and  that  is  the  matter  of  educating  our  cus- 
tomers to  know  what  is  proper  in  jewelry,  why  (fertain 
articles  cost  more  than  others  and  why  it  is  desirable  to 
purchase  them.  Solid  gold  cuflf  buttons  are  sometimes 
offered  as  cheap  as  $1.50  per  pair,  and  yet  we  all  con- 
tinue on  our  way  and  sell  them  at  prices  ranging  from 
about  $4.00  upward,  experience  having  demonstrated  to 
us  that  a  solid  gold  button  cannot  be  made  at  these  lower 
prices  which  will  give  satisfaction.  We  do  not  feel  that 
we  have  to  meet  this  kind  of  competition.  Better  lose  the 
occasional  sale  of  a  cheap  article  than  to  sell  it  to  a  cus- 
tomer giving  a  guarantee  of  satisfaction,  and  this  you 
must  do  if  you  sell  the  article  at  all. 

It  seems  to  be  an  accepted  fact  that  jewelers  must  guar- 
antee their  goods.  A  person  buying  a  coal  scuttle  in  a 
hardware  store  does  not  ask  for  a  guarantee;  the  same 
person  buying  a  pair  of  shoes  in  a  shoe  store  does  not 
ask  for  a  guarantee ;  the  purchaser  of  a  necktie  or  other 
wearing  apparel  does  not  ask  for  a  guarantee.  He  would 
be  laughed  at  if  he  did,  and  would  meet  with  the  infor- 


304 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


mation  that  the  lasting  qualities  of  the  article  depended 
upon  the  number  of  times  it  was  used  or  worn  The 
same  purchaser  stops  in  a  jewelry  store  to  buy  a  collar 
button,  and  mimediately  he  wishes  to  know  '1iow  long  it 
wiU  wear."  The  jewelry  trade  has  brought  about  tlii^ 
condition  of  affairs.  Instead  of  selling  articles  for  just 
what  they  are  and  not  dealing  with  the  future  too  much, 
they  feel  that  as  an  extra  mducement  for  the  customer  to 
purchase  they  must  couple  with  their  statement  of  what 
the  article  is  and  costs,  how  long  it  will  wear.  The  cus- 
tomer is  lead  to  believe  that  once  bought,  he  has  secured 
an  article  which  will  last  him  a  lifetime.  Consequently 
he  IS  disappointed  when  he  finds  that  it  does  not  He 
cither  returns  to  the  jeweler  to  get  another  article  or  else 
he  becomes  an  antagonist  of  the  jeweler  in  a  business 
way.  * 

A  campaign  of  education  should  be  commenced  forth- 
with, to' educate  the  jeweler  first,  and  his  customer  after- 
ward. A  dollar  of  value  for  a  dollar  in  money  is  all  that 
Bny  man  is  entitled  to.  It  is  necessary  that  all  jewelers 
should  ad<^t  the  same  line  of  talk  in  this  direction. 
Otherwise  the  fellow  with  the  unqualified  guarantee  is 
going  to  get  more  than  his  share  of  business,  and  in  the 
meantune  he  is  building  up  trouble  for  the  future  A 
busmess  can  CMily  be  firmly  established  when  it  is  raised 
upon  the  solid  foundation  of  "your  money's  worth  •  no 
more,  no  less." 


EVANS'S   ESSAYS.  305 


CHAPTER  LXXX. 


THE  PSYCHOLOGICAL  MOMENT  IN  A  SALE. 

Every  Salesman  Believes  His  Own  Methods  the  Only  Proper 
Ones— Half  Sold  Goods  Pay  No  Profits— Dtstinguishmg 
Buyers  from  Lookers— Seize  the  Moment  of  Decision- 
Inquiry  Not  Necessarily  Means  that  Nothing  Else  wlQ 
Answer— Don't  Cany  Custxmier  Past  His  Destmation. 

EVERY  salesman  in  every  store  believes  that  he  han- 
dles customers  in  the  only  proper  manner;  that 
such  sales  as  he  makes  are  the  result  of  consistent 
effort,  and  such  as  are  lost  could  not  have  been  made  any- 
way. We  all  realize  that  preliminary  to  everything  else 
must  be  the  customer's  interest  in  the  article  or  proposi- 
tion. You  may  have  an  elegant  assortment  of  goods  on 
display  in  your  store,  but  unless  you  can  arouse  the  in- 
terest of  your  customers  and  passers-by,  the  goods  might 
just  as  well  be  stored  away  in  some  warehouse,  or  be  in 
the  safe  of  the  manufacturer  from  whom  you  have  pur- 
chased them.  True  enough,  goods  well  bought  are  said 
to  be  half  sold,  but  that  other  half  of  the  proposition, 
which  includes  the  actual  exchange  of  the  customer's  coin 
for  your  goods,  remains  to  be  consummated.  Goods 
""half-sold"  do  not  return  any  profits.  The  important 
half  is  yet  to  be  transacted.  \Mien  a  customer  stops  to 
look  into  your  window,  or  enters  your  store  to  ask  a  price 
on  an  article  displayed,  or  to  be  shown  any  particular  class 
of  goods,  it  indicates  interest,  and  that  of  the  right  kind. 
Too  often  the  looker  is  used  in  a  manner  which  is  abso- 
lutely antagonistic  to  your  proclaimed  announcement,  'no 
trouble  to  show  goods."  You  pay  money  for  space  in  the 
papers  in  which  to  invite  the  public  to  come  your  way  and 
see  what  you  have  to  sell.  When  they  do  come  meet  them 
half-way.  School  yourself  against  disappointment  about 
the  present  sale  if  you  fail  to  make  it,  but  all  the  while 


306 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


talk  and  act  as  though  you  expected  to  make  that  particu- 
lar sale  either  then  or  later.  The  cheerful  manner  in  wait- 
ing on  customers  will  amply  repay  you  in  enlarged  profits 
as  well  as  the  fact  that  your  work  is  greatly  lightened  by 

such  methods. 

Put  yourself  in  the  customer's  place  occasionally  and 
try  to  analyze  situations  from  the  other  side  of  the  coun- 
ter. Do  you  care  to  enter  stores  to  take  a  look  at  new 
goods,  some  of  which  you  are  contemplating  purchasing, 
if  your  departure  is  either  interfered  with  or  a  sullen 
look  is  on  the  face  of  the  salesman  when  vou  depart? 
On  the  other  hand,  if  you  are  encouraged  to  come  in  and 
a  few  mmutes'  tune  is  given  you  by  the  salesman,  or  vou 
are  made  free  to  look  around  and  view  unhampered 'the 
many  and  varied  articles  which  delight  the  eye,  does  not 
this  last  store  come  very  near  landing  all  of  vour  i)ur- 
chases  m  that  particular  line?  Jewelers,  a  few  years  ago, 
professed  to  be  able  to  distinguish  the  buvers  from  the 
lookers.  How  they  did  it  is  hard  to  tell.  '  No  one  ever 
came  into  a  jewelry  store  and  laid  down  his  monev  and 
called  for  a  like  ^alue  of  goods.  In  fact,  most  jewelry 
purchases  are  made  after  several  trips  to  the  jewelers 
which  may  be  made  to  the  same  store  each  time,  or  they 
may  be  made  to  several  different  stores.  This  latter  is 
what  is  most  likely  to  happen.  If  all  other  things  are 
equal,  which  store  do  you  think  will  make  the  sale^  The 
store  where  goods  have  been  shown  cheerfully  and  every 
courtesy  extended,  or  the  store  where  one  has  to  demand 
that  they  be  shown,  and  has  to  draw  every  bit  of  informa- 
tion from  the  salesman,  almost  at  the  point  of  a  revolver? 
^ou  can  answer  that  question.  It's  not  a  difficult  one  to 
solve. 

In  every  sale  there  is  the  time  leading  up  to  the  actual 
purchase  of  the  goods.  Work  previous  to  that  moment 
depends  upon  the  customer's  spoken  words,  "I'll  take  it." 
Salesmen  should  be  quick  to  recognize  the  fact  by  the  cus- 
tomer's words  or  actions,  that  he  has  reached  a  decision, 
and  that  a  favorable  one.  So-netimes  a  customer  will  not 
speak  in  positive  terms,  but  will  indicate  to  the  man  who 
has  been  waiting  on  him  by  some  exprcssk)n  that  he  has 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


307 


found  what  suits  him.  Such  expressions  as,  **That  is  just 
about  what  I  want,"  or  'This  comes  the  nearest  to  my 
idea,"  and  so  on,  should  be  taken  due  notice  of ;  super- 
fluous goods  removed  quickly  and  quietly,  so  that  the  cus- 
tomer's attention  may  be  concentrated  on  the  one  article, 
and  not  distracted  again  by  a  large  display.  Very  often, 
after  a  customer  has  practically  made  his  decision,  the 
salesman  will  get  out  still  other  goods  to  show  him,  and 
thus  reopen  the  matter,  making  a  sale  almost  impossible. 
Retailers  should  try  and  follow  the  methods  of  showing: 
goods  which  the  traveling  representatives  do.  They  show 
one  tray  of  goods  at  a  time,  and  let  you  select  what  you 
want  from  it.  Then  they  show  you  another  one.  \\'hile 
our  customers  do  not,  as  a  rule,  buy  more  than  one  arti- 
cle at  a  time  of  a  kind,  yet  sometimes  a  sale  could  be  more 
quickly  made  if  too  large  a  selection  of  goods  was  not 
shown.  The  natural  tendency  of  all  is  to  show  eacn  cus- 
tomer every  article  of  the  kind  called  for  which  we  have 
in  the  store.  This  is  not  only  unnecessary  but  unwise. 
How  often  we  have  customers  say,  *Tf  you  did  not  have 
so  many  pins  I  could  more  easily  make  my  selection." 

Very  often  it  is  possible  to  obtain  from  a  customer  an 
idea  of  what  they  are  looking  for  before  we  start  to  show 
them  goods.  This  saves  a  great  deal  of  time,  because  you 
know  from  their  statements  whether  you  have  what  they^ 
want  or  anything  near  it.  If  one  does  not  carry  in  stock 
the  style  or  class  of  goods  called  for  it  is  not  necessary 
nor  advantageous  to  tell  the  inquirer  that  the  goods  are 
undesirable  or  out  of  date.  The  fact  that  inquiry  is 
made  for  some  particular  article  does  not  necessarily 
mean  that  the  customer  is  going  to  buy  it.  If  you  teil 
them  that  you  do  not  handle  them  and  do  not  condemn 
the  article,  the  customer  has  mental  perception  sufficient 
to  know  that,  if  the  goods  were  particularly  desirable, 
you  would  have  them.  They  will  then  naturally  ask  you 
to  suggest  something  in  its  place.  But  if  you  antagonize 
them  by  saying  that  the  goods  are  old  and  passe,  that  you 
used  to  carry  them  but  have  not  had  any  iii  stock  for  the 
past  five  years,  you  insult  their  intelligence  and  ideas  of 
the  beautiful,  and  have  absolutely  paralyzed  any  chances 


308 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS, 


for  a  sale.  Customers  who  ask  for  goods  of  this  class 
should  be  met  with  a  pleasant  reply  to  the  effect  that  you 
have  none  in  stock.  Then  ask  them  if  the  article  was 
mtended  for  a  gift.  If  so,  mention  to  them  that  you  sup- 
pose that  any  other  article  of  similar  value  will  probably 
do  as  well,  and  see  how  many  times  you  will  be  asked  to 
show  something  else  that's  suitable. 

The  one  great  thing  to  be  able  to  recognize,  however, 
is  when  the  sale  is  made.    Talk  is  cheap,  and  sometimes 
when  you  have  learned  a  good,  long,  selling  talk,  you 
feel  as  though  it  ought  to  be  used  on  every  customer. 
This  is  not  so.    Many  customers  know  just  what  they 
want  and  how  much  they  wish  to  pay  for  it.    Do  not 
carry  them  past  their  destination  and  get  them  into  the 
land  of  *T  don't  know."    Be  quick  to  close  the  transac- 
tion when  it  is  made.   Thus  when  the  customer  has  indi- 
cated the  article,  suggest  how  to  have  it  engraved  or  pro- 
duce the  velvet  or  leather  case  in  which  you  will  deliver 
It.    If  it  is  a  piece  of  sterling  silver,  compliment  the  cus- 
tomer's judgment  and  tell  why  that  particular  pattern  is 
especially  desirable.    In  short,  indicate  from  vour  con- 
versation that  you  consider  the  deal  closed,   'in  ninety 
cases  out  of  one  hundred  it  is.    Occasionally  the  cus- 
tomer will  startle  you  by  stating  that  they  have  not  de- 
cided to  take  it  yet.  but  even  so.  you  have  helped  your 
cause  and  their  decision  by  deciding  for  them. 
^  Most  salesmen  make  a  good  start,  most  of  them  con- 
tinue well,  but  look  out  for  the  close.    Also,  do  not  de- 
cide when  a  customer  has  picked  out  a  good  watch  that 
he  cannot  possibly  have  enough  money  besides  to  pay 
for  a  chain.   Do  not  speak  of  the  chain  or  other  articles 
however,  until  definite  action  has  been  taken  on  the 
watch.    Handle  each  part  of  a  sale  separately.  Always 
act  as  thougrh  you  knew  that  the  customer  could  afford 
to  buy  anything  in  your  store :  that  the  reason  he  buvs 
the  ten  dollar  article  instead  of  the  fifty  dollar  one  is  not 
l)ecause  that  is  his  limit,  but  that  he  has  other  purchases 
to  make  to-day  which  will  take  a  lot  of  money. 

"There  is  a  tide  in  the  affairs  of  men  which,  taken  at 
the  flood  flows  on  to  fortune."  Be  watchful  of  the  psy- 
chological moment  in  the  sale,  and  seize  it  promptly 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS,  309 
 1  


CHAPTER  LXXXI. 


AS  A  MAN  THINKETH,  SO  IS  HE. 

Cttlttvatiiic  Self  Reqiect  Qmdm  That  of  Other»— Knowledge  is. 
Power— Stndy  Your  Trade  Journals— Don't  Be  Afraid. to 
Ask  Questions — Every  Man  Has  Three  Personalities — 
Problem  of  Merging  Them  in  One— The  Position  of  tiie 
Jeweler. 

**  For  as  a  man  thinketh  in  his  heart,  so  is  he." 

SOLOMON,  King  of  Israel,  has  always  been  rated  as 
the  wisest  man  who  ever  lived  since  the  world  be- 
gan. Solomon  built  the  temple  which  so  glorified 
his  name,  and  which  was  the  wonder  of  succeeding  ages. 
The  sayings  of  Solomon  have  been  regarded  as  concen- 
trated wisdom.  He  it  was  who  promulgated  the  theory 
that  as  a  man  thinketh  so  is  he.  To  many  this  seems  prac- 
tically impossible,  or  at  least  an  exaggeration.  We  forget 
that  the  first  step  toward  gaining  the  respect  of  our  fel- 
lowmen  is  to  cultivate  self-respect.  To  really  respect  our- 
selves, requires  that  we  must  come  pretty  near  to  living^ 
right  and  doing  unto  our  fdlows  as  we  would  that  they 
should  do  to  us.  This  is  one  of  the  reasons  that  retail 
jewelers  throu^^  association  work  have  done  mudi  to 
lessen  the  evils  existing  in  the  trade.  Men  who  under 
previous  conditions  were  prone  to  make  misstatements 
about  their  competitors  and  who  justified  their  actions 
by  theorizing  that  he  was  doing  the  same  thing,  to-day 
find  it  impossible  to  say  anything  other  than  good  of  their 
brother  jeweler  because  they  know  hirn  and  desire  his 
good  opinion.  Many  jewelers  are  lacking  in  self-confi- 
dence. They  do  not  have  sufficient  knowledge  of  their 
business  to  enable  them  to  obtain  and  retain  any  self-re- 
spect for  Uieir  knowledge. 

People  who  are  on  the  outside  imagine  that  the  watch- 
maker and  jeweler  possesses  a  complete  knowledge  of 


JIO 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS, 


the  various  nieclianical  devices  and  jewelers'  articles 
which  he  has  for  sale.    The  jeweler  realizes  his  own  in- 
sufficiency in  these  directions  and  often  falls  down  at  the 
first  question  which  an  incjuisitive  customer  fires  at  him. 
Knowledge  is  power.     Know  your  husiness.  Studv 
whatever  printed  matter  you  can  obtain  which  will  give 
you  definite  information  along  the  lines  which  you  should 
know.    Do  not  be  satisfied  with  a  mere  smattering  of 
knowledge.    It  is  surprising  how  unprepared  some  of 
our  jewelers  are  to  describe  the  goods  which  they  have 
for  sale.  They  do  not  even  know  the  names  of  the  dif- 
ferent stones  which  arc  mounted  in  rings  and  scarf  pins. 
They  are  not  prepared  to  give  any  information  which 
will  tend  to  demonstrate  their  desirability  to  prospective 
owners.   Their  selling  talk  on  watches  leads  one  to  be- 
lieve that  the  more  jewels  a  watch  contains  the  more  re- 
liable timepiece  it  becomes.   Their  knowledge  of  docks 
extends  only  as  to  whether  they  are  time  or  striking 
clocks,  and  whether  they  run  one  day  or  eight  days  with 
one  winding. 

In  sterling  silver  beauty  of  design  and  finish  is  never 
referred  to,  but  the  weight  is  spoken  of  many  times,  such 
terms  as  "good  weight,"  "heavy  weight,"  and  so  on,  being 
considered  trump  cards.    In  diamonds  the  beauty  of  a 
stone  because  of  its  natural  brilliancv,  which  has  been 
greatly  augmented  by  the  work  of  the  artisan,  is  passed 
rapidly  over,  if  it  is  referred  to  at  all.    The  size  and 
weight  of  the  stone  and  the  quality  of  the  ring  mounting 
are  spoken  of  several  times,  and  are  supposed  to  have 
great  influence  in  landing  the  sale.    There  are  many 
things  which  one  can  safely  leave  to  the  customer  after 
having  covered  the  explanatory  part  of  making  the  sale. 
If  we  were  to  visit  a  clothing  house  and  be  shown,  for  in- 
stance, the  prevailing  shades  this  fall,  which  are  brown, 
and  after  the  salesman  informing  us  that  brown  was  ver>' 
much  in  favor  he  should  say  continually,  This  is  a  brown 
.«;uit,  and  costs  twenty-five  dollars ;  this  is  a  brown  suit, 
and  costs  thirty  dollars,"  after  listening  attentively  you 
must  cither  cmidude  that  the  browner  they  were  the  more 
they  cost,  or  else  that  the  salesman  did  not  know  verv 
much  about  his  busine^.  But  the  clothing  salesman  does 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS, 


311 


not  spend  his  time  in  telling  you  the  color  of  the  suit; 
nor  whether  it  is  sack  or  dress.  He  dwells  upon  the  ma- 
terial of  the  goods  and  the  lining.  He  shows  you  just 
how  and  why  the  more  expensive  suit  is  worth  more  and 
why  it  is  to  your  advantage  to  buy  it.  He  has  facts  to 
give.  You  should  be  in  the  same  position  regarding  your 
business.  Know  whether  the  stones  in  your  brooch  pins 
and  pendants  are  genuine  or  imitation.  Do  not  have,  to 
guess  about  such  matters.  You  cannot  give  your  custom- 
ers satisfactory  answers  unless  you  know  you  are  right. 

In  buying  goods  do  not  be  afraid  to  ask  questions  about 
them.  The  information  acquired  will  help  you  make  sales 
later  on.  Pride  often  prevents  us  from  doing  what  we 
know  we  ought  to,  but  Illustrations  can  be  cited  in  almost 
countless  numbers  to  demonstrate  the  advisability  of  ask- 
ing questions.  A  former  state  Senator  was  telling  me  of 
an  experience  of  his  boyhood  days  which  illustrates  the 
necessity  of  asking  questions  when  one  does  not  know  it 
all.  He  came  down  to  Utica  from  a  neighboring  village 
to  purchase  a  baseball  which  was  to  be  used  in  a  game 
that  afternoon.  It  was  before  the  day  of  the  trolley,  and 
he  came  down  by  train,  procured  the  ball  and  then  went 
to  the  depot  to  take  the  train  home.  A  train  was  in,  and 
without  asking  any  questions  he  boarded  it.  When  the 
conductor  came  through  the  boy  presented  his  ticket,  and 
then  learned  that  the  first  stop  was  a  dozen  miles  beyond 
his  home.  During  the  walk  home  he  resolved  that  he 
would  never  again  refrain  from  asking  questions  when 
his  convenience  would  be  greatly  assisted  by  so  doing. 
Jewelers  buy  thousands  of  dollars'  worth  of  goods  each 
year,  and  many  of  them  without  knowing  much  about 
them.  Surely  the  salesman  who  is  overrunning  with  in- 
formation about  his  goods,  has  greatly  the  advantage  of 
the  salesman  lacking  essential  knowledge. 

As  a  man  thinketh  in  his  heart,  so  is  he.  This  goes 
back  of  the  front  or  bluff  which  some  men  pride  them- 
selves on.  It  gets  to  the  man  himself.  Each  man  know^s 
his  own  strength  and  his  own  weakness.  Each  man  is 
said  to  possess  three  personalities :  as  he  thinks  he  is,  as 
his  friends  think  him,  and  the  real  man,  known  only  to 


312 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


his  Maker.  The  more  a  man  strives  for  better  things, 
the  more  alike  do  his  three  personalities  become.  When 
a  man  can  analyze  himself  and  be  satisfied  with  his  result, 
the  better  can  he  fulfill  his  mission  in  life,  which,  in  our 
case,  is  to  supply  the  jewelry  wants  of  his  fellow  crea- 
tures. The  jewelry  business  is  one  which  will  bring  out 
the  best  there  is  in  a  man  because  it  appeals  to  the  finer 
sensibilities.  Here  we  meet  the  young  man  in  search  of 
a  diamcmd  ring  for  the  lady  of  his  choice,  who  becomes 
the  consequent  purchaser  of  a  wedding  ring.  In  time  the 
little  stranger  arrives  in  their  home,  causing  numerous 
trips  of  uncles  and  aunts,  grandmas  and  grandpas  to  the 
jeweler  for  a  cup,  a  spoon,  a  ring,  and  so  <m.  The  jew- 
eler is  in  touch  with  the  family  during  the  happiest  events 
of  their  lives,  and  if  he  is  a  man  of  the  right  sort  will  oc- 
cupy in  the  minds  of  many  a  portion  which  no  other  busi- 
ness man  can  occupy. 

The  jeweler  because  of  the  nature  of  his  wares  must 
be  a  man  of  unquestioned  honesty.  His  statements  must 
be  accepted  without  question.  He  should  occupy  in  his 
city  or  village  the  same  position  which  the  banker  does  in 
the  same  community.  Why  doesn't  he?  Because  he  does 
not  have  the  proper  respect  for  himself  and  his  business. 
DeaHng  in  precious  stones  and  the  finest  metals,  he  should 
think  himself  above  the  common  things  of  life,  and  real- 
ize that  his  merchandise,  being  permanent  in  quality,  he 
is  separated  from  the  dealer  in  articles  which  arc  tem- 
poral in  their  lasting  qualities. 

Knowing,  as  he  does,  that  on  practically  all  matters  his 
word  must  be  accepted  without  question  ami  without 
proof,  he  should  think  himself  a  man  of  unquestioned 
standing,  and,  ''As  a  man  thinketh,  so  is  he."  There  is 
another  great  saying  of  the  great  king  of  Israel.  Solo- 
mon, wisest  of  men  and  builder  of  the  Temple,  also  states 
the  marvelous  truth  which  applies  to-day  with  the  same 
force  as  it  did  those  thousands  of  years  ago:  "Seest  thou 
a  man  diligent  in  business,  he  shall  stand  before  kings." 
When  one  considers  the  truth  and  justice  of  these  two 
statements  of  Solomon,  he  should  feel  encouraged  to  try 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


and  make  the  most  of  his  opportunities,  for  developing 
himself  in  all  directions,  and  to  pursue  his  business  call- 
ing with  diligence. 

Ours  is  an  honorable  calling  and  we  should  persevere 
in  developing  our  business  to  the  greatest  degree.  We 
stand  to-day  just  at  the  entrance  of  our  busiest  season. 
Results  wall  come  now  from  proper  efforts.  Do  not  be 
slow  to  act.  Do  not  leave  to-day's  work  till  to-morrow. 
Expect  big  things  and  work  for  big  things  remembering 
the  quotation  at  the  head  of  this  article,  "For  as  a  man 
thinketh  in  his  heart,  so  is  he." 


314 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


CHAPTER  LXXXII. 


WHAT  DOES  YOUR  NAME  STAND  FOR? 

Value  of  a  Trade  Marlt—Qiiaraiiteet  for  Different  Standarda— 
Loae  Sale  and  Create  Favorable  Opinion  Rather  than 
Make  Fake  Statements—Alleged  Violation  of  Contract 
Price— Reputation  for  Fair  Dealing  a  Moat  Valuabla 
Aaaet* 

IN  glancing  through  the  advertising  columns  of  a  mag- 
azine, a  paragraph  caught  my  eye  regarding  the 
value  of  the  well  known  trade  mark  of  "Royal  Bak- 
ing Powder."  It  stated  that  the  owner  of  this  famous 
trade  mark  was  offered  a  million  dollars  a  word  for  it, 
and  merely  laughed  at  the  offer.  It  further  stated  that  he 
values  those  three  words  at  a  million  dollars  a  letter.  If 
that  special  brand  of  baking  powder  had  not  been  excep- 
tionally good,  no  amount  of  advertising  could  have  made 
its  name  worth  what  it  is  to-day.  It  must  have  been  al- 
ways consistently  standard,  so  that  people  learned  to  de- 
pend upon  it,  and  felt  assured  of  satisfaction  when  they 
called  for  and  used  it.  In  every  city  and  town  through- 
out the  world  there  are  certain  stores  in  different  lines  of 
business  where  any  statements  made  are  accepted  at  their 
face  value,  without  discount  of  any  kind.  With  such 
stores  everything  is  not  "'the  best."  They  realize,  and 
give  their  customers  credit  for  realizing,  that  a  difference 
in  quality  calls  for  a  corresponding  difference  in  price. 

A  jeweler  told  me  a  while  ago  that  customers  required 
just  as  much  of  a  guarantee  on  a  two  dollar  chain  as  they 
did  upon  an  eight  dollar  one.  This  certainly  was  the 
fault  of  the  jeweler,  and  demonstrated  his  lack  of  sales- 
manship. One  can  certainly  never  build  up  a  demand  for 
the  better  class  of  goods,  if  he  gives  the  same  liberal  guar- 
antee of  satisfaction  with  the  cheaper  lines.  If  a  jeweler 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


315 


guarantees  a  customer  perfect  satisfaction  with  an  eight 
dollar  chain,  and  then  in  response  to  the  customer's  ques- 
tion states  thait  the  five  dollar  one  will  wear  practically 
as  long,  and  then  agrees  with  the  customer  that  a  two 
dc^r  one  will  wear  as  long  as  the  five  dollar  one,  why 
it  stands  to  reason  that  he  is  going  to  do  a  large  business 
in  cheap  goods  at  a  loss  of  profit  and  reputation.  It  is 
an  accepted  fact  that  quality  is  remembered  long  after 
price  is  forgotten.  Also  that  many  people  expect  just  as 
much  of  the  cheap  articles  in  the  way  of  wear  as  they 
would  if  they  paid  a  price  which  would  have  procured  the 
higher  dass  of  goods.  A  man  and  woman  entered  our 
store  one  time  when  chain  bracelets  were  in  vogue.  They 
both  agreed  that  a  five  dollar  bracelet  was  very  pretty. 
He  then  said  to  her,  "I  like  this  four  dollar  one  fully  as 
well,  don't  you?"  To  which  she  acquiesed.  By  gradual 
steps  he  reached  a  bracelet  costing  $1.25,  and  they  bought 
that;  he  feeling  that  he  had  saved  $3.75,  and  she  feeling 
that  she  was  lucky  to  get  away  with  even  that.  It  might 
be  stated,  however,  that  he  was  not  guaranteed  the  same 
satisfacticm  with  the  lowest  priced  one  as  he  was  with  the 
best  one. 

Lose  a  sale  <Mice  in  a  while  rather  than  tell  an  untruth 
to  make  it.  Do  not  justify  yourself  by  saying  that  cus- 
tomers compel  you  to  make  fadse  statements  in  order  to 
effect  a  sale.  The  day  is  passing  when  it  is  considered 
salesmanship  to  make  false  statements  to  a  customer  to 
land  the  immediate  sale.  The  idea  to-day  is  to  send  cus- 
tomers away  with  a  favorable  opinion  of  the  store  and 
Its  methods  even  though  no  purchase  is  made.  The  repu- 
tation for-  charging  high  prices  will  never  hurt  you.  What 
people  want  to-day  4s  rig^it  goods  at  right  prices.  They'll 
pay  you  for  your  goods,  but  you  must  deliver  to  them 
what  they  think  they  are  buying.  Jewelers  who  feel  that 
selling  nngs  stamped  "sdid  gold"  and  allowing  the  igno- 
rant customer  to  believe  that  he  is  getting  a  pure  gold 
wng,  is  good  business,  will  awake  some  day  to  find  that 
their  customers  have  comle  to  realize  that  the  only  mark 
worth  considering  in  a  ring,  is  the  actual  quality  mark  of 


3i6 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


« 

the  gold,  coupled  with  the  trade  mark  of  the  manufac- 
turer. People  gravitate  from  one  store  to  another  and  in- 
quiry made  regarding  articles  which  they  own  often  dis- 
closes the  fact  that,  the  quality  is  different  from  what 
they  thought  it  was.  True  enough,  people  get  confused 
ideas  of  what  the  salesman  has  been  telling  tiiem  and  of- 
ten go  away  with  the  impression  that  they  have  bought 
the  articles  for  which  he  gave  such  a  high  recommenda- 
tion, instead  of  something  lower  priced  but  of  inferior 
quality.  It  is  enough  usually  to  assure  pt|rchasers  of 
lower  priced  goods,  that  they  are  getting  their  money's 
worth;  that  if  they  feel  that  they  have  not,  why  you  will 
be  glad  to  have  them  come  to  you  with  their  comj^nt, 
and  if  just,  they  can  depend  upon  its  being  attended  to. 

To-day  we  hear  a  great  deal  about  fixed  priced  watches 
and  kindred  lines.  We  also  hear  of  all^;ed  violations  of 
the  contract  made  between  manufacturer  and  dealer.  In 
conversati(Hi  with  a  jeweler  the  other  day,  he  related  to 
me  how  he  handled  a  case  of  this  kind.  The  incident  is 
as  foUows:  A  customer  enters  seddng  a  special  watch 
with  an  established  price.  The  dealer  stated  that  he  did 
not  handle  this  special  watch,  and  offered  to  show  the 
same  grades  of  the  same  watch  cased  in  similar  cases  but 
just  a  little  different  size.  The  customer  mentioned  that 
the  dealer  in  his  own  city  had  made  him  a  pretty  good  of- 
fer on  the  fixed  price  watch  mentioned;  that  is,  that  he 
would  sell  him  tiie  thirty  dc^lar  watch  for  twenty-six. 
The  jewder  then  said  that  the  first  dealer  could  not  sell 
the  watch  in  question  for  other  than  the  price  es^lished 
on  it,  and  asked  the  customer  whether  he  knew  enough 
about  watches  to  be  sure  that  he  was  not  going  to  pay 
twenty-six  ddlars  for  the  watch  selling  at  twenty-five. 
He  replied  that  he  was  not  a  juclge  of  a  watch,  but  relied 
upon  the  dealer.  Our  friend  pointed  out  to  him  that  a 
man  who  would  openly  announce  that  he  would  vidate  a 
contract  of  that  kind  was  not  trustworthy,  and  would  be 
just  as  apt  to  raise  the  price  of  a  lower  grade  watdi  as  to 
reduce  the  price  of  the  one  in  question.  The  argtuaent 
proved  effectual,  and  our  friend  made  the  sale.  If  a  cus^ 


EVANS'S  ESS  A  YS 


317 


tomer  only  stops  to  think  the  matter  over  he  has  more 
confidence  in  the  man  who  does  not  make  wild  statentents 
to  compass  a  sale,  but  tells  the  plain,  unvarnished  truth, 
and  makes  the  sale  through  hard  facts,  rather  than 
through  some  fairy  tales. 

One  thing  to  remember  is  this,  that  after  customers 
have  reached  home  and  discussed  their  purchase  with 
their  family  or  bought  the  matter  over  by  themselves, 
they  sometimes  resdize  that  they  could  not  reasonably  ex- 
pect the  results  which  you  have  promised  for  the  price 
which  they  paid.  How  much  better  to  have  reasoned 
with  them,  and  had  them  buy  with  only  ordinary  expec- 
tations of  what  they  have  bought  Better  have  them  find 
out  that  you  have  been  only  nxoderate  in  your  statements,- 
and  that  the  goods  are  even  better  than  you  said.  Thus 
they  will  learn  that  you  are  dependable.  One  sale  will 
never  make  your  business.  Make  your  name  stand  for 
all  that  is  good  in  your  business.  Be  one  of  those  firms 
whose  reputaticm  for  fair,  square  dealing  is  worth  more 
than  their  store  and  stock  a  dozen  times  over.  People  go 
back  to  such  places ;  not  to  kick  and  raise  a  disturbance, 
but  to  purchase  other  and  better  goods.  They  have  their 
friends,  too,  who  must  be  considered.  They  can  urge 
them  to  give  you  a  trial,  or  they  can  advise  against  calling 
on  you.  Anyway  you  look  at  it  you  must  make  your 
name  to  be  the  most  valuable  asset  in  your  business, 
whether  viewed  from  the  standpoint  of  your  creditors  or 
your  custcxners.  "A  good  name  is  rather  to  be  chosen 
than  great  riches." 


3i8 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


CHAPTER  LXXXIII. 


THE  RETAIL  JEWELER  AS  A  BUSINESS  MAN  AND 

CITIZEN. 

Hie  Jeweler  Coming  Into  His  Own— Active  in  Improving 
Local  Condttioiw-Hi^  Regarded  by  Hia  Nei|^iboca— 
Bvfing  Gold  Bfklra   Conditiona  Steadily  Improving. 

THE  retail  jeweler  as  such  is  a  well  known  quantity, 
and  as  important  to  the  comfort  of  a  community 
as  the  village  blackanith  (with  whom  he  is  some- 
times compared)  or  the  country  hotel  and  post  office.  Of 
late  years,  however,  the  retail  jeweler  has  been  develop- 
ing from  the  state  of  a  mere  public  ccMivenience  to  that  of 
a  gentline  business  man,  who  does  not  wait  for  people  to 
call  for  articles  before  he  procures  them,  but  who  edu- 
cates his  customers  as  to  what  is  right  and  proper  to 
purchase  for  the  varyii^j  occasimis  for  which  gifts  are 
required.  He  is  becoming  master  of  his  own  business 
and  taking  his  proper  position  in  the  commercial  workL 
The  retail  jeweler  is  highly  regarded  by  the  residents  of 
his  city  and  town,  and  usuodly  looked  up  to  as  one  of  the 
solid  and  influential  men.  Iliis  is  because  of  tiie  costli- 
ness of  his  wares.  People  expect  a  man  who  !^>ends  his 
lifetime  in  the  purchasii^;,  selling  and  repairing  of  arti- 
cles which  combine  sentiment  wi^  use,  to  be  above  the 
average  in  the  finer  sensibilities.  Jewelers  of  recent  years 
have  b^:un  to  appreciate  their  standing  in  the  commun- 
ity in  which  they  live  and  are  living  up  to  tbe  reputation 
which  is  theirs.  To-day  we  find  jewelers  active  in  asso- 
ciations of  business  men.  We  hear  of  them  acting  as 
leaders  in  movements  for  the  betterment  of  conditions  in 
their  towns ;  of  their  activities  in  the  loced  b(KU*d  of  trade 
or  chamber  of  commerce.  They  are  bq^innuig  to  realize 
that  whatever  nmkes  for  the  improveinent  of  general  ccn- 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


319 


ditions  in  their  towns  not  only  helps  the  hotel  keeper,  the 
department  store  and  the  grocer,  but  incidentally  is  bene- 
ficial to  themselves. 

In  former  days  the  retail  jeweler  was  likely  to  keep 
within  his  own  shell,  and  believe  that  when  he  kept  his 
store  open  from  seven  or  eight  in  the  morning  till  nine 
or  ten  in  the  evening,  he  was  doing  the  very  best  thing  he 
could  for  his  own  advantage.  To-day  be  realizes  that  his 
former  position  was  wrong.  He  closes  his  store  at  six 
o'clock  and  spends  his  time  in  the  society  of  his  family 
or  in  association  with  other  business  men  at  the  club, 
from  whom  he  can  learn  much  of  advantage.  One  thing 
which  will  surprise  a  jeweler  is  to  find  that  other  busi- 
.  ness  people  speak  very  readily  about  the  percentage  of 
profit  they  msike  in  their  business,  and  if  the  average  re- 
tail jeweler  is  at  all  weak  about  establishing  and  main- 
taining a  prc^t  on  his  goods  commensurate  with  the  ab- 
solute value  of  the  goods,  he  should  talk  over  matters 
with  a  hardware  man,  a  departmrat  store  buyer,  or  any 
cme  of  a  dozen  other  people ;  he  will  find  that  their  per- 
centage of  prdit  far  exceeds  the  jewelers  and  they  are 
sdling  goods  which  must  from  time  to  time  be  replaced, 
whereas  we  are  selling  goods  which  last  indefinitely. 

Retail  jewelers  should  interest  themselves  in  enter- 
prises of  a  public  nature,  where  no  immediate  profit  is 
coming  to  them.  Show  the  general  public  that  you  can 
think  of  something  other  than  the  almighty  dollar.  Yoy'll 
get  the  dollar  afterward.  The  idea  which  is  often  ex- 
pressed, "What  is  there  in  it  for  me?"  never  brought  a 
man  anything.  It  is  a  well  estabHshed  truth,  that  the 
more  you  .put  into  a  thing,  the  more  you  can  take  out  of 
it.  So  it  is  in  your  home  town.  If  there  is  on  foot  a 
money  raising  enterprise  for  a  new  hospital,  or  a  Y.  M. 
C.  A.,  do  your  best  to  help  the  matter  along.  If  the  board 
of  trade  is  trying  to  induce  some  large  factory  to  locate 
in  your  city  lend  your  aid  to  the  project.  If  there  is  a 
good  citizenship  campaign  under  way,  give  it  your  sin- 
cere  assistance.  It  is  a  well  established  fact  that  it  is  not 
advflHHI  discuss  religion  or  politics  with  a  customer, 


320 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


but  that  fact  does  not  prevent  you  from  arraying  your- 
self on  the  side  of  honesty  and  straightforwardness.  The 
day  has  loi^  since  gone  by  when  pecfde  resent  the  fact 
that  a  man  forms  an  opinion  because  it  is  a  different  one 
from  theirs.  Nevertheless,  we  find  many  business  men 
whose  names  are  worth  a  whole  lot,  who  will  not  lend 
them  to  an  enterprise  which  is  for  public  good  beciuse 
they  are  afraid  that  it  will  hurt  their  business,  and  yet, 
the  same  men  will  accept  a  free  lot  or  a  free  set  of  hoiks 
and  lend  their  endorsement  to  the  project  which  assists 
the  promoter  to  take  out  of  the  town  thousands  of  dol- 
lars which  should  be  left  in  the  city. 

Organization  work  among  the  jewelers  has  done  m»4ch 
to  broaden  the  individual  and  to  draw  out  his  many  good 
qualities.  Retail  jewelers  find  themselves  qualified  to 
write  their  opinions  in  vigorous  terms  regarding  what 
they,  consider  trade  abuses.  Opinions  widely  differ  on 
sudi  matters,  but  the  more  thought  and  expression  of 
views  given,  the  greater  probalMlity  that  we  will  finally 
discover  what  the  opinion  of  the  majority  is. 

The  retail  jeweler  should  demonstrate  to  his  clientele 
the  fact  that  their  interests  are  best  served  when  they 
purchase  from  him  their  needs  in  the  lines  which  he  car- 
ries. His  willingness  to  make  exchanges,  or  if  necessary 
to  refimd  the  money;  to  make  good  on  his  guarantee, 
when  required ;  the  fact  that  the  goods  arc  at  hand  to  see; 
the  difference  in  finish  not  indicated  by  a  picture  of  the 
article;  his  show  window  disf^y;  the  word  of  mouth  as 
more  emphatic  than  the  written  or  printed  word,  all  give 
the  retail  jeweler  advantages  which  another  a  thousand 
miles  off  cannot  have.  Then,  too,  his  standing  in  the 
c(»nmunity  and  his  knowledge  of  the  goods  and  his  per- 
sonal acquaintance  with  the  customer  is  decidedly  in  his 
favor. 

Then  there  is  another  feature  which  is  not  often  con- 
sidered. People  like  to  send  away  for  goods,  but  if  upon 
their  receipt  they  find  little  niceties  missing  and  the  arti- 
cle presenting  the  general  appearance  of  being  second- 
hand, perhaps  they  will  feel  like  the  old  farmer  of  whom 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


321 


a  friend  inquired  if  he  had  ever  bought  a  gold  brick.  His 
reply  was,  "No,  I  never  did.  I  bought  one  once  that  I 
thought  was  gdd."  Peqple  who  have  bought  watches 
and  clock:/  from  the  mail  order  house  and  shipped  them 
back  and  forth  a  few  times,  become  disgusted.  Then 
again,  there  is  a  certain  class  of  people  who  never  buy 
anything  in  a  regular  way.  Such  people  are  always  found 
at  bargain  sales,  auction  sales,  and  so  on.  They  are  also 
among  the  patrons  of  the  mail  order  houses. 

The  retail  jeweler  certainly  cannot  complain  about  his 
condition  the  last  ten  years.  It  has  been  steadily  improv- 
ing. Better  prices  are  obtainable  both  for  new  goods  and 
repairs,  and  to-day  the  jeweler  presents  the  general  ap- 
pearance of  being  prosperous.  If  there  is  any  one 
thought  in  my  mind  to-day  it  is  that  the  retail  jeweler 
must  stand  with  the  general  public  on  all  questions  of 
public  ccmcem.  Special  interests  and  special  favors,  class 
legislation,  and  so  on,  are  very  much  in  disfavor.  There 
is  one  thing  absolutely  established,  and  that  is,  that  the 
retail  jeweler  is  here  to  stay.  There  cannot  any  one  take 
his  business  from  him.  He  should,  however,  endeavor 
to  keep  the  lines  of  goods  which  he  handles  out  of  the 
hands  of  the  mail  order  and  department  stores,  and  he 
can  make  it  necessary  that  manufacturers  choose  between 
the  jewelry  trade  and  these  outsiders,  by  giving  the  bene- 
fit of  his  business  to  those  who  try  and  keep  the  sale  of 
their  goods  in  legitimate  channds. 


322 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


CHAPTER  LXXXIV. 


THE  POWER  OF  EXAMPLE. 

Effect  of  One's  Actions  on  Others — Force  of  Esuunple  In 
Business  Success — Proprietor's  Responsibility  to  Em- 
ployees— Keeping  Your  Word— The  Habit  of  Punctuality 
-  —Regularity  in  Business  Hour*— Do  Not  Impoee  on 
Clerks. 

WE  often  hear  people 'state  that  they  do  as  they 
please;  that  they  do  not  have  to  consider  the 
effect  of  their  actions  upon  others.  If  one 
stops  to  consider  a  moment,  he  will  observe  that  practi- 
cally every  act  of  his  life  has  its  effect  upon  others;  if  in 
no  other  way,  by  the  power  of  example.  Where  do  the 
small  boys  get  the  notion  that  it  is  a  manly  thing  to  puff 
on  a  cigarette?  From  observing  that  the  rank  and  file  of 
men  smoke.  They  naturally  consider  that  the  forming  of 
the  habit  of  smoking  is  one  long  step  toward  manhood. 
So,  too,  other  habits  more  vicious,  can  be  traced  to  the 
examples  set  by  men.  The  boy  is  said  to  be  the  father  of 
the  man.  As  he  has  been  taught  in  youth,  so  he  inclines 
when  a  man  grown. 

But  it  is  not  regarding  the  formation  of  such  habits  as 
smoking,  drinking,  profanity  using,  etc.,  that  is  on  my 
mind  to-day,  but  it  is  the  force  of  example  about  such 
matters  as  pertain  more  particularly  to  success  in  busi- 
ness. A  boy  goes  to  work  in  a  store  willing  to  learn  and 
anxious  to  please.  Certain  little  tasks  are  given  him  to 
do,  and  he  is  relied  upon  to  perform  these  duties  without 
continual  prodding  to  make  him  do  them.  He  probably 
starts  in  to  do  that  work  just  as  well  as  he  knows  how. 
But  let  us  suppose  that  the  store  is  conducted  by  an  indi- 
vidual owner,  who  must  perforce  leave  his  store  in  the 
charge  of  subordinates  while  he  transacts  such  necessary 
business  as  banking,  which  takes  him  away  temporarily. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS.  323 


And  suppose  that  the  minute  his  back  is  turned  work  gen- 
erally ceases ;  customers  who  enter  are  treated  discourte- 
ously and  discouraged  from  calling  again.  Don't  you 
think  that  these  examples  have  their  effect  upon  the  boy 
who  is  there  to  learn  how  to  achieve  success  in  the  busi- 
ness world?  Dbn't  you  think  that  somehow  or  other  he 
is  acquiring  the  opinion  that  the  boss  is  an  overbearing 
sort  of  a  fellow  anyway ;  that  he  is  getting  rich  at  the  ex- 
pense of  others  and  with  little  effort  on  his  own  part,  and 
that  any  advantage  he  can  take  of  his  absence  is  justifiable 
on  his  part?  Do  you  think  that  if  work  went  on  just  the 
same  during  the  prc^rietor's  absence,  the  same  efforts  to 
please  customers  were  made,  that  that  same  boy  would 
have  been  trained  and  developed  along  the  line  of  faith- 
fulness to  duty  whether  under  surveillance  or  not  ? 

The  prq[>rietor  also  has  his  responsibility  to  his  em- 
ployes in  the  matter  of  example.  In  showing  goods  he 
must  make  every  effort  to  please  which  is  in  his  power. 
If  he  fails  to  effect  a  sale  he  must  never  make  disparag- 
ing remarks  about  the  customer  after  he  has  left  the 
store.  He  must  never  act  as  though  he  considered  that 
bis  efforts  were  too  many,  or  that  he  should  have  hur- 
ried the  cust<Mner's  departure  by  any  hasty  word,  or  by 
diowing  a  disinclination  to  show  goods  called  for.  He 
^ould  carefully  rearravge  the  trays  of  goods  before  re- 
turning them  to  the  case,  or  see  that  some  one  else  does  it. 
Goods  which  are  soiled  or  show  handling  should  be  taken 
back  to  the  •shop  to  be  put  in  prc^r  ccmdition.  Thor- 
oughness on  your  part  will  beget  the  same  qualities  in 
those  with  whom  you  work.  Slipshod  methods  are  easily 
•  acquired  and  do  more  to  hurt  a  jeweler's  business  than 
anything  else. 

The  matter  of  promptness  in  having  work  ready  is 
quite  important.  In  short,  it  means  keeping  your  word. 
Your  word  is  the  only  thing  you  can  give  and  keep.  Be 
careful  in  your  promises.  Better  argue  with  a  customer 
at  the  time  a  job  is  being  left  for  a  Uttle  more  time  than 
to  promise  delivery  aikl  then  fail  to  make  good.  Have 
the  date  you  promise  work  sufficiently  far  a^ead  so  that 


324 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS, 


no  excuse  will  remain  for  not  being  ready  at  the  time 
specified,  and  then  have  your  employes  understand  that 
the  promises  must  be  made  good.  It  is  easy  enough  to 
put  off  a  job  until  the  very  ddy  it  is  to  be  called  for  and 
then  find  that  you  lack  the  essentials  for  doing  the  work. 
An  inspection  immediately  would  have  made  possible  the 
ordering 'of  the  necessary  materials  and  the  consequent 
delivering  of  the  job  at  the  specified  time.  If  you  are 
careless  about  such  matters  and  display  a  readiness  to 
make  excuses  to  your  custCMner,  you  will  find  that  your 
clerks  will  develq>  the  same  trait,  and  will  consider  that 
it  is  an  easy  matter  to  placate  a  disappointed  customer. 
If,  however,  the  employer  would  state  to  the  disappointed 
customer  that  there  was  no  excuse  for  the  job  not  being 
done  except  neglect,  and  that  he  did  not  blame  them  for 
being  vexed,  but  that  he  would  guarantee  that  there  would 
be  no  repetition,  he  would  find  that  not  only  w  ould  his 
store  stand  better  with  the  customer  in  question,  but  also 
he  would  have  more  respect  from  his  employes,  who 
would  understand  that  promises  made  in  the  name  of  the 
concern  must  be  made  good,  if  within  the  range  of  human 
possibility. 

The  writer  has  often  wondered  what  some  jewelers 
would  think  or  say  if  their  orders  were  treated  by  the 
CMies  to  whom  they  are  sent  in  the  same  manner  that  they 
treat  their  customers'  orders.  If  they  sent  a  job  to  New 
York  which  should  be  back  the  second  day  and  they  did 
not  get  it  for  a  week  or  ten  days,  would  they' consider  the 
house  a  businesslike  one  ?  No ;  they  would  not.  They 
expect  their  orders  to  be  filled  promptly.  There  is  an- 
other feature  about  this  matter  of  promptness.  We  all  ' 
have  jobs  left  with  us  which  are  difficult  of  handling. 
Either  we  lack  the  materials  or  the  ability  to  handle  same 
advantageously.  If  this  matter  was  looked  into  the  day 
the  job  was  left  it  could  be  sent  away  the  same  day  and 
would  be  back  at  the  time  promised.  Right  here  let  me 
suggest  that  one  man  have  the  responsibility  of  parceling 
out  work  in  a  store.  Every  job  is  then  carefully  looked 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


325 


over  when  left,  and  he  will  know  almost  at  once  whether 
it  will  be  necessary  to  send  it  away  or  not. 

There  is  another  habit  wherein  example  plays  an  im- 
portant part,  and  that  is  in  being  on  hand  to  business 
promptly  in  the  morning,  taking  a  regular  time  for  lunch 
at  noon,  having  a  regular  time  for  leaving  and  returning. 
Many  jewelers  are  very  careless  about  this  matter,  and 
as  a  consequence  lose  much  valuable  business  during  the 
course  of  a  year.  Then  it  has  its  eflPect  upon  your  em- 
ployes. If  you  do  not  get  down  to  business  until  nine  or 
ten  in  the  morning,  do  not  expect  to  find  a  great  deal  done 
when  you  get  there.  Tlie  writer  learned  a  while  ago  of 
an  experience  which  happened  in  a  large  wholesale  house 
in  this  city  dealing  in  plumbers'  supplies.  The  president 
was  accustomed  to  arrive  after  nine  each  morning.  Con- 
sequently, although  the  office  force  were  expected  to  all 
be  in  their  places  from  seven-thirty  to  eight  o'clock,  not 
a  man  of  them  ever  showed  up  before  eight,  and  most  of 
them  arrived  a  full  half-hour  later.  The  manager  had 
been  brought  up  in  the  business  with  the  other  boys,  and 
disliked  to  speak  of  the  matter.  However,  he  must  have 
spoken  to  the  president,  for  one  morning  the  latter  ar- 
rived at  the  office  at  seven  o'clock  and  noted  the  arriving 
time  of  each  clerk.  They  all  experienced  a  great  shock, 
and  for  some  time  every  man  was  on  hand  at  the  ap- 
pointed hour,  for  he  did  not  know  but  what  the  president 
might  take  the  notion  to  get  down  again  early.  This 
merely  illustrates  how  people  take  advantage  of  laxness 
of  this  kind.  If  you  are  conducting  a  jewelry  store  you 
should  be  the  first  one  to  get  there.  If  you  are  you  can 
insist  upon  your  employes  getting  there  at  the  same  time. 
But  if  you  compel  them  to  hang  around  outside  waiting 
for  your  arrival  you  give  them  an  excuse  which  they  will- 
use  if  necessary. 

Be  to  your  employes  what  you  want  them  to  be  to  you. 
Do  not  expect  them  to  take  more  interest  in  your  business 
than  you  do  yourself.  Many  an  employe  has  had  respon- 
sibility thrust  upon  his  shoulders  which  he  was  loath  to 
assume  and  for  which  he  was  not  paid.   You  cannot  get 


326 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


a  manager  for  your  store  at  the  salary  of  a  bench  man. 
Remember  that.  Also  remember  that  you  cannot  expect 
a  man  to  do  much  more  than  you  pay  him  for.  Just  as 
soon  as  an  employe  realizes  that  he  is  being  imposed  upon 
in  the  matter  of  added  work  and  responsibility  just  so 
soon  he  is  either  going  to  look  up  anoUier  job  or  else  he 
is  going  to  begin  to  take  advantage  of  your  continued  ab- 
sences from  business.  There  is  not  any  business  which 
will  run  itself,  except  into  the  ground.  You  do  not  want 
your  business  headed  that  way.  So  get  busy.  Show  your 
iployes  and  your  customers  that  you  arc  alive,  and  en- 
thusiastic, and  willing.  All  will  respect  you,  your  em- 
ployes will  work  harder  for  you  and  your  customers  will 
go  out  of  their  way  to  do  you  a  good  turn  or  spend  a  dol- 
lar with  you. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


327 


CHAPTER  LXXXV. 


THE  J£W£L£R  AND  HIS  WATCH  DEPARTMENT. 

Bverytfaing  Higher  Except  the  Jeweler's  Qood»— Diamonds 
the  Only  Jewelry  Commodity  ScUang  at  a  Higher  Price, 
and  That  is  tiie  Only  Article  on  whtdi  Sales  Have 
Boomed— More  Effort  Should  Be  Paid  to  tiie  Sale  of  tiie 
Better  Gradea  of  Watches— In  Selling  a  Watch  Try  to 
Impress  Your  Customer  with  the  Idea,  Not  "How  Cheap," 
but  "How  Good." 

SCATTERED  about  this  union  of  sovereign  states 
there  are  approximately  twenty  thousand  retail 
jewelers,  in  varying  conditions  as  to  prosperity  and 
contentment  of  mind.  When  one  stops  a  moment  and 
considers  the  increased  cost  of  the  actual  necessities  of 
life,  we  must  certainly  marvel  that  these  tiiousands  of 
jewelers  are  able  to  gain  through  the  conduct  of  their 
businesses  enough  of  the  paper  backed  by  our  govern- 
ment to  procure  the  afore-mentioned  necessities.  Gro- 
ceries, meats  and  clothing  are  all  sold  at  prices  consider- 
ably higher  than  they  were  about  fifteen  years  ago.  Fash- 
ion's demands  as  to  dress  and  house  furnishings,  and  the 
feeling  of  pride  which  one  has  regarding  sudi  things 
prompts  each  wage  earner  to  stand  for  the  increase  in 
price  on  these  goods,  and  their  very  existence  requires 
that  their  table  be  provided  with  the  good  things  of  life, 
no  matter  what  they  cost.  In  conversation  with  a  travel- 
ing man  yesterday,  he  made  the  statement  that  he  would 
never  economize  on  his  meals;  that  he  would  rather  go 
without  some  little  luxury,  if  need  be,  to  save  the  same 
money.  The  steady  advancement  of  prices  in  wearing 
apparel,  instead  of  resulting  in  people  being  poorer  clad, 
has  reacted  in  exactly  the  other  way.  People  are  better 
clothed  to-day  than  ever  before.  It  is  sometimes  a  diffi- 


328 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


cult  proposition  to  distinguish  people  in  the  different 
walks  of  life  by  the  manner  in  which  they  are  dressed. 

What  has  all  this  to  do  with  retail  jewelers  and  the  sale 
of  their  goods?  Well,  just  this:  In  our  line,  nothing 
has  been  advanced  in  years  to  any  extent,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  diamonds,  and  with  the  result  that  the  sales  of 
these  gems  have  largely  increased.  But  the  sales  of  ex- 
pensive watches  have  fallen  off  to  a  remarkable  extent. 
True,  some  of  the  more  moderate  priced  watches  per- 
form so  accurately  that  it  is  not  necessary  to  pay  a  large 
price  to  get  a  satisfactory  timepiece.  Thus  we  find  the 
retail  jeweler,  in  showing  watdies,  advocating  the  pur- 
chase of  a  gold  filled  case,  and  a  seven  or  fifteen  jeweled 
movement,  rather  than  trying  to  persuade  his  customer 
that,  inasmuch  as  he  has  purchased  the  best  in  other  lines ; 
inasmuch  as  he  is  willing  to  pay  a  thousand  dollars  more 
for  a  lot  on  a  more  desirable  street ;  inasmuch  as  he  de- 
mands the  best  in  clothing,  and  his  house  is  furnished 
with  taste  and  elegance  and  at  a  price  that  would  make 
his  grandfather  gasp,  if  he  knew  the  cost;  inasmuch  as 
he  spends  large  amounts  of  money  annually  on  vacations 
and  other  amusements, — that  he  really  owes  it  to  himself 
to  purchase  a  watch  which  will  be  a  credit  to  himself,  and 
one  which  he  will  not  have  to  replace  in  a  few  years. 
Show  him  that  if  he  buys  a  good  weight  solid  gold  case, 
fitted  with  a  high  grade  movement,  he  has  purchased  a 
faithful  companion  which  will  last  him  a  lifetime,  and 
one  that  he  can  always  depend  upon  to  present  the  ap- 
pearance of  being  a  good  watch,  and  contain  the  neces- 
sary internal  mechanism  to  carry  out  the  idea  which  the 
outer  case  presents. 

Appearances  count  for  much  in  this  world.  All  con- 
cede the  truth  of  this  remark.  While  we  realize  that  the 
real  man  does  not  depend  upon  outer  adornment,  still  the 
biblical  quotation,  "that  man  looketh  on  the  outward  ap- 
pearance," is  demonstrated  every  day.  When  you  go  to 
a  bank  to  open  an  account,  or  deposit  your  valuable  pa- 
pers, would  you  be  very  much  impressed  if  the  cashier 
was  shabbily  dressed  and  carried  a  cheap  watch  which  he 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


329 


consulted  as  to  the  time?  It  is  really  a  serious  problem 
which  the  jewelers  must  work  out  regarding  the  ten- 
dency to  purchase  cheap  watches.  Jewelers  are  them- 
selves to  blame  in  this  matter.  Naturally  the  customer 
who  comes  into  your  store  to  buy  a  watch  has  formed 
some  idea  of  what  he  will  have  to  pay  for  a  suitable 
watch.  Perhaps  he  has  decided  that  he  ought  to  get  a 
watch  good  enough  for  his  purposes  for  twenty-five  dol- 
lars. Picture  to  yourself  that  man  in  your  store.  How 
would  you  handle  him?  Of  course  you  do  not  know 
what  priced  watch  he  is  thinkin^^^  about  buying,  but  do 
you  show  him  some  of  your  best  watches  first,  or  are  you 
afraid  of  discouraging  him  by  showing  him  an  expensive 
watch?  Do  you  only  show  an  expensive  watch  when  a 
customer  demands  that  he  be  allowed  to  see  one?  The 
writer  has  heard  time  and  again,  not  only  in  our  store 
but  in  other  jewelry  stores,  the  interrogatory  of  the  cus- 
tomer, as  to  whether  the  jeweler  ''has  any  better  watches, 
or  are  you  showing  me  the  best  goods  now  ?"  Where  one 
customer  asks  that  question  there  are  ten  others  who 
think  it,  but  say  notliing.  If  you  show  your  customer 
watches  ranging  in  price  from  ten  to  twenty-five  dollars, 
and  no  others,  do  you  think  there  is  any  possibility  that 
you  will  sell  him  a  twenty-five  dollar  watch?  Does  he 
not  begin  to  consider  in  his  own  mind  whether  or  not  the 
lower  priced  ones  will  not  give  him  as  good  satisfaction 
as  he  really  needs?  Then,  when  he  has  progressed  thus 
far  in  his  mental  cogitations,  he  will  ask  you,  "do  you 
think  this  ten  dollar  watch  will  run  and  give  good  satis- 
faction?" When  he  makes  this  inquiry  you  immediately 
decide  that  ten  dollars  is  all  the  money  he  wishes  to  spend 
and  that  you  will  do  well  if  you  can  land  him  on  that 
watch.  You  will  then  sound  the  praises  of  the  cheap 
watch,  finally  sending  him  away  with  the  lowest  price 
watch  you  have  shown  him,  fastened  to  his  buttonhole 
with  a  dollar  chain,  and  changed  a  twenty  dollar  bill  to 
get  out  your  mcmey. 
Ask  yourself  how  many  times  after  landing  a  sale  of 


330 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS, 


a  cheap  watch  yott  have  found  out  that  the  customer  ex- 
pected to  pay  more?  It  is  indeed  a  sad  commentary  on 
our  ability  as  salesmen,  that  fewer  high  priced  watches 
are  sold.  Do  not  immediately  decide  that,  because  the 
customer  asks  you  for  ''something  cheaper"  he  will  not 
buy  something  good,  if  its  merits  are  properly  explained 
to  him.  "ThCTc's  a  reason"  why  one  watch  is  worth  more 
than  another,  and  it  is  your  business  so  attractively  to 
present  the  good  points  of  your  best  articles  that  you  can 
win  the  customer  across  the  chasm  of  doubt  and  uncer- 
tainty into  the  land  of  good  quality  goods.  Talk  is  cheap 
and  should  be  used  sparingly,  but  for  goodness  sake  use 
your  talking  powers  and  your  persuasive  arguments  oa 
your  best  goods.  Do  not  laud  the  low  priced  goods  so 
high  that  nothing  more  emphatic  can  be  said  about  the 
more  expensive  ones.  The  writer  is  not  trying  to  impress 
his  readers  with  the  idea  that  you  can  seU  a  fifty  dollar 
watch  to  a  ten  dollar  customer,  but  what  he  is  trying  to 
impress  upon  one  and  all  is  not  to  sell  the  man  with  fifty 
dollars  the  ten  dollar  watch. 

People  do  not  buy  jewelry  in  a  hurry.  They  do  not 
ask  you  the  price  of  an  article,  have  it  told  them,  and  then 
run.  They  come  into  your  store  prepared  to  spend  con- 
siderable time  in  the  contemplation  and  purchase  of  the 
article  in  questi<m.  Remember  this,  and  show  your  ex- 
pensive goods  first.  Any  student  of  human  nature  can 
tell  whether  he  is  within  reach  of  his  customer  within  five 
minutes  after  the  customer  has  entered  the  store.  Then, 
if  found  that  he  is  talking  over  their  heads,  he  can  grad- 
ually slide  down  the  scale  of  prices,  and  sell  them  as  good 
an  article  as  they  will  buy  and  pay  for.  Of  course,  we 
have  all  met  the  man  "who  will  buy  the  best  watch  in  the 
store,  if  you  will  give  him  credit,"  but  he  is  not  the  man 
we  are  discussing.  We  are  talking  of  the  man  who  has 
the  money  to  pay  for  a  good  watch,  and  who  will  go  a 
few  dollars  more  than  he  anticipated,  if  you  can  show 
him  why.  Let  us  read  all  the  literature  which  will  help 
make  us  better  salesmen ;  let  us  learn  logical  selling  talks. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


331 


realizing  that  the  same  argument  will  be  effective  in  most 
cases,  following  our  introductory  remarks,  and  as  the  elo- 
quent preachers  realize  the  fact  that  they  can  write  a 
much  better  sermon  than  they  can  preach  extemporane- 
ously, so  let  us  realize  that  we  can  sit  down  quietly  and 
formulate  ideas  and  statements,  which,  formed  into  one 
complete  whole,  will  give  us  something  to  say  that  will 
be  convincing  to  our  listener. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS, 


CHAPTER  LXXXVI. 


TRANSFORMING  LOOKERS  INTO  BUYERS. 

Salesmanship  Required  to  Make  Customers  of  the  Curious- 
Looking  Stimulates  the  Desire  which  Precedes  Bujong— 
Courtesy  and  Interest  Assist  the  Process  ■  Value  ol  Per* 
sonal  Advertising. 

MANY  lines  of  business  are  of  such  a  nature  that 
the  lookers  are  few  in  comparison  with  the  buy- 
ers.   Take,  for  example,  the  grocery  and  the 

meat  market.  Most  customers  who  enter  these  stores 
have  in  mind  what  they  wish  to  purchase.  The  man  be- 
hind the  counter  acts  in  the  same  capacity  as  a  nickel-in- 
the-slot  machine.  He  delivers  whatever  they  call  for;  no 
ability  being  necessary,  other  than  to  tie  up  a  bundle  in  a 
satisfactory  manner,  write  down  the  address  carefully 
and  legibly,  and  to  see  that  the  delivery  man  takes  them 
out  on  the  proper  load.  In  no  part  of  this  transaction  has 
there  been  any  salesmanship  needed  or  displayed.  True, 
some  grocery  clerks  have  developed  the  power  of  sugges- 
tion to  an  extent  that  they  are  enabled  to  make  many  sales 
of  specialty  goods  or  novelties,  on  which  there  is  a  good 
profit  which  would  otherwise  have  remained  unsold. 
Many  other  businesses  are  of  a  character  where  people 
must  make  purchases  occasionally,  whether  they  will  or 
not.  Such  are  the  clothing  and  furnishing  lines,  the  fur- 
niture store  and  a  few  others.  Clothing  for  men  and 
women,  boys  and  girls,  nmst  be  purchased,  and  while 
salesmanship  is  required  to  effect  the  actuaPsale,  still  the 
looker  of  to-day  is  usually  the  buyer  of  to-day  also.  This 
makes  much  more  easy  the  handling  of  the  individual 
customer.  The  salesman  is  filled  with  hope  and  encour- 
agement while  he  is  waiting  on  them;  he  does  not  long 
for  them  to  go,  but  counts  all  the  while  on  making  the 


EVAXS'S  ESSAYS. 


333 


«ale.  But  how  is  it  with  the  jeweler?  Most  of  his  cus- 
tomers are  lookers  first.  Sometimes  people  enjoy  look- 
ing at  pretty  goods  so  well  that  they  become  chronic 
lookers.  They  do  not  seem  to  be  able  to  give  up  the 
pastime  of  looking  and  pass  into  the  class  of  the  has- 
beens. 

Iliese  lodcers  cause  some  jewelers  great  annoyance; 
m  time  it  becomes  .aknost  impossible  to  wait  on  them. 
It  also  causes  them  to  put  all  lookers  into  the  same  class, 
and  in  the  course  of  time  efforts  are  made  to  get  rid  as 
quickly  as  possible  of  these  "pests, '  as  they  are  called. 
There  is  one  thing  we  should  remember,  however,  the 
stores  that  have  the  greatest  number  of  lookers  also  have 
the  most  buyers,  and  do  the  largest  volume  of  business. 
Instead  of  acting  in  a  discourteous  manner  to  the  look- 
ers we  should  consider  them  our  best  friends,  for  this 
reason:  these  people  are  usually  great  talkers;  they  can 
give  your  store  the  benefit  of  a  large  amount  of  free  per- 
sonal advertising,  and  they  will  do  it.  They  will  tell  their 
friends,  ''I  was  in  P>lank's  jewelry  store  to-day,  and  he 
has  just  received  the  swellest  line  of  little  diamond  and 
pearl  pendants  that  I  have  ever  seen."  This  cannot  but 
give  your  store  the  reputation  of  being  strictly  up-to-date, 
and  will  naturally  react  to  your  benefit. 

All  people  are  blessed  or  cursed  with  more  or  less  cu- 
riosity. Thus  we  will  find  some  folks  who  cannot  see  a 
gim  of  any  description  without  examining  it,  and  look- 
ing into  the  barrel,  at  the  same  time  trying  the  trigger  to 
see  if  it  is  loaded.  Sometimes  it  is.  Then  we  have  the 
curious  person,  who  wonders  if  the  sign,  ''Danger! 
Hands  Ofif !"  really  means  what  it  says.  He  touches  the 
wire  and  finds  out,  but  never  tells  us  what  he  learned. 
Then  we  have  the  curious  person,  who  spends  the  day  in 
listening:  to  conversations  by  other  parties  on  his  tele- 
phone line,  and  seems  to  enjoy  it.  The  curious  person, 
however,  who  comes  to  your  store  to  learn  what  is  new 
and  desirable  in  your  line  is  certainly  interested  in  jew- 
elry and  should  be  cultivated.   Looking  indicates  inter- 


334  EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 

est,  which  should  be  turned  into  desire  and  "then  into  re- 
solve to  buy.  When  you  write  an  advertisement  for  your 
paper,  when  you  spend  a  half-day  arranging  your  show 
window,  when  you  buy  velvet  display  fixtures  of  differ- 
ent kinds,  or  change  your  system  of  disj^aying  goods  in 
your  showcases,  you  do  so  for  one  purpose  only,  to  at- 
tract attention  to  your  goods.  Looking  in  your  window 
is  preliminary  to  entering  your  stqre.  Entering  your 
store  to  obtain  a  closer  look  at  an  article  displayed  in  the 
window,  or  to  see  a  more  complete  line  inside,  precedes 
buying.  We  are  all  startled  when  ^  custcmier  enters  and 
buys  some  one  article  irom  the  window  without  furtiber 
discussion.  It  is  not  what  we  expect.  We  really  expect 
people  to  look;  we  invite  them  to  look;  we  urge  them  to 
look.  But  as  looking  without  buying  is  like  "faith  with- 
out works,"  we  should  endeavor  to  have  the  looker 
change  into  a  buyer.  While  we  are  willing  to  do  a  cer- 
tain amotmt  of  missionary  work  for  our  competitors,  we 
do  not  want  to  be  missionaries  only.  We  want  to  sell 
jewelry  and  kindred  articles. 

When  people  enter  your  store  and  inform  you  that 
they  are  "just  looking,"  assure  them  that  they  are  per- 
fectly welcome  to  look  to  their  heart's  ccmtent,  and  that 
it  will  be  a  gfeat  pleasure  for  you  to  show  them  any 
goods  in  whidi  they  are  interested.  Inform  them,  how- 
ever, that  you  are  never  surprised  to  make  sales  to  those 
who  have  come  in  just  to  look ;  that  if  they  see  what  they 
want,  to  feel  free  to  buy  it,  or  to  have  it  laid  aside  to  be 
called  for  later.  In  short,  give  them  to  understand  that 
while  you  are  pleased  to  show  goods,  you  are  more 
pleased  to  sell  them.  People  like  to  trade  where  their 
ptronage  is  appreciated,  rather  than  go  to  a  store  and 
insist  upon  the  clerk  or  salesman  showing  them  other 
goods  in  order  that  they  may  be  able  to  make  a  purchase. 
Many  storekeepers  frighten  away  possible  purchasers  by 
their  manner.  We  are  all  busy,  and  often-times  when  we 
are  the  busiest  or  the  most  bothered,  someone  will  walk 
in  and  say,  "Good  morning,  Mr.  Blank,  I  did  not  come  in 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS,  335 


to  buy  anything  to-day,  but  I  wanted  to  see  how  much  I 
will  have  to  pay  for  a  Httle  neckchain  for  a  baby  who 
will  be  a  year  old  in  June.  I  want  it  for  her  birthday." 
Naturally,  such  circumstances  are  aggravating,  and  it 
takes  a  master  mind  to  figure  out  the  fact  that  though 
this  woman  is  looking  four  months  ahead  for  some  trivial 
purchase,  yet  her  husband  may  be  going  to  buy  a  dia- 
mond ring  within  two  weeks,  and  your  treatment  of  her 
may  decide  whether  you  make  the  sale  or  not.  Then  she 
may  have  friends  whose  purchases  in  the  next  few 
months  will  aggregate  a  large  amount.  Her  influence  in 
favor  of  your  store  may  decide  the  day. 

We  all  have  the  customer  whose  purchases  do  not 
amount  to  much  but  whose  influence  does.  We  should 
strive  to  send  every  person  who  enters  our  store  away 
feeling  that  they  have  been  fairly  dealt  with  and  with  a 
favorable  impression  of  our  store.  We  should  endeavor 
to  sell  each  customer  what  they  ask  to  see  and  always  be 
ready  to  show  other  goods  for  which  no  inquiry  has  been 
made.  Jewelers  are  too  ready  to  quit.  They  do  not  fol- 
low up  the  sales  department  of  their  business  as  they 
should.  Send  each  purchaser  away  with  the  idea  in  mind 
of  buying  some  other  novelty  to  which  you  have  called 
their  attention. 

Wait  on  each  customer  as  though  they  had  the  making 
of  your  business  in  their  hands.  Avoid  telling  people 
that  the  goods  they  ask  to  see  are  "out  of  date."  Tell 
them  that  your  sales  were  small  in  that  particular  line 
and  you  let  the  line  run  out.  Offer  to  get  the  goods  for 
them,  and  do  so  if  they  wish.  It  is  easy  enough  to  show 
them  what  you  are  selling  in  their  stead,  and  oftentimes 
people  will  decide  that,  as  they  would  not  think  of  buying 
a  last  year's  hat,  neither  do  they  want  any  of  last  year's 
jewelry. 

In  conclusion:  as  we  meet  with  all  classes  and  condi- 
tions let  us  strive  to  "be  all  things  to  all  men,"  and  to 
"live  peaceably  with  all  men,"  which  translated  means, 
use  all  comers  with  kindness  and  courtesy,  but  exercise 
a  guiding  hand  in  their  purchases,  so  that  they  will  not 
buy  anything  with  which  they  are  not  satisfied. 


336 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS, 


CHAPTER  LXXXVII. 


HOW  TO  USE  IMAGINATION  IN  BUSINESS 

Bttildiiig  Castles  in  the  Air  not  Wholly  a  Waste  of  Time- 
Imagination  in  Designing  Window  Diq^Uys— Enthuse 
Slow  Thinkers  Through  the  Use  of  Sentfanent  in  Adver- 
tising-—Get  in  Touch  with  Cuitomers  by  Means  of 
Imaginative  Selling  Talks. 

BUILDING  castles  in  the  air  has  been  indulged  in  for 
centuries  by  all  classes  of  pec^le  in  all  countries 
of  the  world.  Many  condemn  such  practices,  as 
they  are  pleased  to  believe  that  it  makes  people  unfit  for 
the  realities  of  life,  to  dream  about  things  which  they 
hope  will  come  to  pass.  Nevertheless,  it  has  always 
seemed  to  me  that  dreaming  about  the  future  and  what  it 
may  contain  for  us,  in  the  way  of  betterment  of  condition, 
helps  us  to  perform  with  cheerfulness  many  of  the  un- 
pleasant little  duties  which  fall  to  the  lot  of  all  of  us.  We 
are  all  here  for  business  and  pleasure.  We  arc  happier  be- 
cause we  have  to  work  for  a  living  than  we  would  be  were 
we  of  the  leisure  class.  Yet  we  could  not  work  year  in 
and  year  out  w  ithout  pleasure  and  either  an  improvement 
of  our  condition  or  the  promise  of  such.  The  small  saver 
looks  forward  to  the  lime  when  he  shall  have  enough 
money  to  permit  him  to  make  a  payment  on  a  home  for 
his  family,  wlicre  his  children  could  play  in  safety  and 
where  flowers  and  vegetables  might  be  grown.  Those 
more  fortunately  situated  as  regards  their  financial  con- 
dition, have  other  dreams  of  what  they  propose  to  do 
when  they  have  the  necessary  money,  such  as  purchasing 
an  automobile  or  indulging  in  a  European  trip.  It  is  such 
dreams  that  make  life  wortli  livini^.  Anticipation  is  of- 
ten greater  than  realization,  and  ii  is  well  that  this  is  so 
because  we  look  forward  ofttmies  for  months  for  some 


EVANS'S  ESS  A  VS. 


337 


little  trip  or  outing  which  is  over  in  a  few  short  days  or 
weeks.  The  pleasure  we  have  had  in  planning  the  trip  is 
considerable  and  is  equally  as  enjoyable  as  the  actual  trip 
itself. 

In  business  life,  were  it  not  for  our  imagination  we 
could  not  perform  some  of  the  duties  in  preparation  for 
the  business  which  in  our  imagination  we  know  is  to  be 
ours  during  the  fall  and  holiday  season.  Take,  for  in- 
stance, dealers  in  other  lines  such  as  furs  and  clothing 
of  different  kinds.  They  have  ordered  some  time  since 
the  goods  which  in  anticipation  they  have  already  sold 
the  coming  winter.  In  the  jewelry  line  we  have  all  or- 
dered special  goods  to  be  delivered  November  i  to  15, 
and  have  perfect  confidence  that  we  will  sell  them  al- 
though we  have  not  had  an  inquiry  for  them  from  any 
one.  In  dressing  a  show  window  we  must  have  imagina- 
tion. We  must  design  a  windovv'  which  we  believe  will 
appeal  to  the  greatest  number  of  passers-by.  We  must 
write  our  window  cards  in  a  fashion  which  will  appeal 
to  the  imagination  of  the  reader  and  looker.  Thus  the 
saying,  **Your  daughter  would  be  deliglued  with  one  of 
these  beautiful  pendants.  All  the  girls  are  wearing  them 
now.  Surprise  her  with  one.  Tiie  prices  are  not  high. 
Take  one  home  with  you."  Or  regarding  a  handsome 
watch  displayed  in  a  case,  place  a  card  on  it  with  a  word- 
ing something  like  this :  "Your  son  needs  a  watch  in  his 
new  position  where  promptness  is  so  desirable.  See  that 
he  has  a  good  one,  as  one  that  is  purchased  now  will  last 
him  during  his  entire  lifetime.  Come  in  and  let  lis  show 
you  how  little,  comparatively  speaking,  a  first-class  watch 
v»^ill  cost  vou."  Or  on  the  trav  containing^  a  few  selected 
brooches  or  bracelets  place  a  card  saying.  "Some  people 
go  through  their  lives  without  the  possession  of  some 
dainty  bit  of  jewelry  for  which  they  have  always  pined 
but  for  which  they  will  not  ask.  Take  your  wife  home 
one  of  these  beautiful  brooches  or  bracelets  and  make 
her  haj^py." 

Many  people  are  slow  thinkers.  Many  men  believe 
that  they  are  all  that  could  be  desired  as  home  keepers 


338 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


or  providers  for  the  family  because  they  furnish  food 
and  clothing  sufficient  to  maintain  health.  They  are 
lacking  in  the  finer  sensibilities  and  need  someone  like 
the  jeweler  (who  makes  his  living  by  selling  luxuries) 
to  make  them  think  that  there  are  other  things  besides 
brooms  and  brushes,  beefsteak  and  cabbage;  that  if  there 
is  one  thing  which  a  woman  appreciates  more  than  an- 
other it  is  the  possession  of  some  little  article  which  is 
more  ornamental  than  useful. 

If  we  are  to  sit  back  quietly  and  wait  until  all  other 
lines  of  business  have  had  their  fling  before  w^e  urge  the 
purchase  of  our  goods,  we  will  find  that  we  will  do  but 
little,  and  that  will  be  all  credit,  as  the  other  fellow  will 
have  the  cash. 

In  our  advertising  we  should  appeal  to  the  imagina- 
tion, and  advertisements  so  constructed  are  much  more 
likely  to  prove  trade  winners  than  any  other  kind  of  a 
worded  request  for  business.  As  most  jewelry  is  pur- 
chased for  presents  it  stands  to  reason  that  we  must  ad- 
vertise along  the  line  of  sentiment,  as  otherwise  we  have 
but  little  left  to  argue  about.  True,  watches,  clocks,  sil- 
verware and  cut  glass  may  be  counted  as  necessities,  but 
we  cannot  sell  the^^e  same  articles  over  and  over  again 
to  the  same  people.  What  we  must  strive  to  cultivate  is 
the  belief  that  for  a  present  for  anyone  old  or  young 
there  is  but  one  place  to  go,  because  at  the  jewelers  will 
be  found  a  full  stock  of  the  articles  which  everyone  has 
planned  to  own  some  day.  People  are  often  at  a  loss  as 
to  what  to  buy  for  birthday,  wedding  and  Christmas  an- 
niversaries. Start  them  on  a  chest  of  silver  through 
your  show  window  and  your  advertising.  Once  you  have 
gotten  a  customer  to  buy  some  knives  and  forks  of  ster- 
ling silver  you  have  opened  up  a  large  amount  of  busi- 
ness and  have  made  easy  for  them  the  selection  of  a  suit- 
able gift. 

In  our  selling  talks  we  should  draw  strongly  on  our 
imagination.  We  should  be  able  to  place  ourselves  in 
touch  with  our  customer's  line  of  thought  and  lead  him 
to  a  decision  which  will  be  satisfactory  to  both.  The 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS,  339 


real  sale  should  be  mutually  advantageous.  The  cus- 
tomer has  parted  with  his  money,  but  has  received  in  ex- 
change something  whicli  he  would  rather  have  than  the 
money.  Money  is  the  medium  of  exchange.  In  prehis- 
toric times  barter  was  the  only  method  of  exchange, 
which  made  trading  extremely  difticult  for  ofttimes  a 
man  would  have  to  trade  at  a  disadvantage  to  himself,  in 
order  to  obtain  something  which  he  wished  to  own.  With 
money  all  is  different.  Each  man  with  money  can  go 
where  he  pleases  and  purchase  what  he  wishes ;  the  store- 
keeper can  do  likewise,  and  thus  a  continual  system  of 
exchange  is  carried  on.  We  ought  never  to  consider  fo^ 
a  moment  that  the  man  with  the  money  is  the  master  of 
the  situation  and  yet  in  many  stores  this  is  so.  The  sight 
of  a  few  gold  backed  bills  will  make  the  dealer  lose  sight 
of  the  fact  that  he  is  in  business  to  make  a  profit  and  that- 
real  salesmanship  is  the  disposing  of  goods  at  a  profit 
If  each  dealer  could  only  develop  his  imagination  to  the 
extent  of  realizing  that  his  customer  really  w^ants  to 
spend  his  money  or  he  would  not  be  there  and  that  to 
him  the  goods  are  more  desirable  than  the  money,  there 
would  be  fewer  sales  which  show  a  small  profit  or  none 
at  all.  Look  at  things  from  your  customer's  standpoint 
and  you  will  find  that  your  sales  will  show  more  satisfac- 
tory profits  than  heretofore.  For  all  these  various  rea- 
sons, and  for  countless  others,  develop  the  spirit  of  imag- 
ination. 


340  EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


CHAPTER  LXXX\  ill. 


POSITIVENE8S  AS  A  BUSINESS  ASSET. 

Thinking,  Speaking  and  Acting  Positively  are  Elements  Mak- 
ing for  Success — A  Reputation  for  Positive  Decisions 
Saves  Time— Store  Rules  Accepted  Without  Question  if 
Promptly  and  Positively  Stated— Places  Salesmen  on 
Equal  Footing. 

IN  these  latter  days  it  is  absolutely  necessary  that  a 
man,  to  be  successful,  must  know  positively  whereof 
he  speaks.  He  must  think  positively,  act  positively, 
speak  positively.  "Time  is  money."  How  often  we  hear 
this  expression,  yet  how  little  we'  appreciate  the  fact.  U 
3.  man  were  to  acquire  the  habit  of  being  positive,  those 
with  whom  he  came  in  contact,  and  with  whom  he  was 
constantly  doing  business,  would  come  to  a  realization 
of  this  qualification,  and  much  useless  expenditure  of 
time  could  thus  be  avoided.  Traycling  salesmen  tell  me 
that  were  they  to  accept  as  fMBH^tatements  usually 
made  by  retail  jewelers  on  th^l^^Kce  to  their  stores, 
they  would  not  be  in  any  imme^V^anger  of  having 
their  salaries  raised  because  of  the  immense  business 
they  were  doing.  The  customary  way  to  wait  on  a  trav- 
^^aag  man  is  somewhat  after  this  order:  After  pre- 
liminaries, such  as  hand-shaking  and  discussing  the 
weather  and  its  effects  upon  business,  naturally  the  sales- 
man gets  around  to  the  subject  nearest  his  heart,  inquires 
if  there  is  anything  doing  and  is  promptly  informed  that 
there  is  not.  The  weather  halMjtotoo  dry,  or  it  has  been 
too  wet,  or  it  has  been  cold,  hot,  or  it  has  been 

stormy.  G>nsequently,  nothing  has  been  sold  and  tiicre 
is  nodiing  to  buy.  Does  the  traveling  man  believe  you? 
No,  he  dots  not.  He  merely  recognizes  the  fact  that  you 
•do  not  want  to  buy  and  accordingly  realizes  that  he  must 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


341 


devise  some  plan  to  get  you  to  look.  If  he  has  anything 
brand  new  in  his  trunk  he  will  ask  your  consent  to  show 
you  just  that  one  package  of  goods ;  stating  that  he  will 
not  urge  you  to  buy  if  you  say  you  cannot  use  them.  He 
is  a  good  fellow.  Of  this. you  are  convinced,  and  he  has 
already  given  you  a  cigar  to  prove  it.  You  will  look  at 
these  special  goods  just  as  a  favor  to  him.  You  see  a  few 
things  you  can  use,  you  buy,  and  when  the  traveling  man 
has  gotten  you  to  travel  this  first  step  he  knows  he  will 
sell  you  a  bill.  The  next  time  he  calls  you  spend  the  first 
half -hour  trying  to  avoid  looking  at  his  goods  and  the 
next  hour  or  two  looking.  Ofttimes,  it  takes  more  time 
to  try  and  persuade  a  traveling  man  that  you  do  not  want 
anything  than  it  would  to  look  over  his  line  and  tell  him 
the  same  thing  as  each  successive  tray  is  shown. 

It  strikes  me  that  we  should  all  cultivate  the  spirit  of 
fairness  and  justice.  If  we  feel  friendly  to  a  house  and 
are  willing  to  give  them  a  share  of  our  patronage,  try  and 
establish  with  its  representative  a  reputation  for  decision 
and  positiveness.  If  you  answer  questions  in  a  half- 
hearted way,  it  cannot  but  impress  the  salesman  with  the 
idea  that  all  that  you  need  is  a  little  urging,  and  you  after- 
wards prove  this  fact  to  him  by  buying  when  you  had  pre- 
viously made  the  statement  that  there  was  absolutely  noth- 
ing that  you  wanted.  If  yon  were  to  accord  representa- 
tives the  privilege  of  showing  their  lines  spring  and  fall, 
whether  you  anticipated  purchasing  or  not,  then  on  the 
occasion  of  their  other  visits  spoke  positively  regarding 
your  wants,  you  would  find  that  in  the  course  of  a  year 
you  would  save  some  weeks'  time  sparring  or  fencing 
with  the  representatives  of  wholesale  concerns. 

The  same  quality  of  positiveness  should  enter  equally 
and  perhaps  to  a  greater  extent  in  your  dealings  with  your 
customers.  If  you  mark  prices  on  your  goods,  be  sure 
that  they  are  right  and  fair  and  then  hold  to  them.  Do 
not  quote  prices  and  make  such  statements  as  that  they 
are  the  lowest  prices  at  w^hich  goods  of  the  quality  can 
be  sold,  and  then  follow  the  customer  to  the  door  to  call 
him  back  and.  accept  his  offer.  If  you  have  rules  whereby 


342  EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


a  certain  amount  of  engraving  is  allowed  free  and  all  in 
excess  is  charged  for,  see  to  it  that  you  and  your  clerks 
hold  to  this  rule.  Nothing  so  weakens  a  system  as  to  have 
•concessions  continually  made  to  special  customers.  Some 
of  your  best  paying  customers  arc  those  with  whom  you 
have  absolutely  no  acquaintance.   They  come  to  you  al- 
ways when  they  are  in  need  of  anything  in  your  line,  make 
their  selection,  pay  the  price,  and  leave  oftentimes  with- 
out your  learning  their  names.    They  take  your  state- 
ments as  you  give  them.    Imagine  their  feelings  to  learn 
sometime  that  you  will  cut  your  prices,  do  extra  engrav- 
ing, or  perform  some  other  uncalled  for  act,  in  order  to 
effect  a  sale.    Then  there  is  the  matter  of  credit.  Many 
dealers  have  established  the  custom  of  selling  for  cash 
only  and  hold  to  it.    Still  others  essay  to  do  a  cash  busi- 
ness but  cannot  quite  accomplish  what  they  set  out  to  do. 
Naturally,  everyone  has  friends  and  customers  whose 
word  is  as  good  as  a  bond,  and  exceptions  are  perhaps 
justifiable  in  such  cases.    There  are  jewelers,  however, 
wh6  state  their  willingness  to  trust  anybody  for  the  part 
of  the  price  which  represents  their  profit,  taking  a  chance 
on  ever  getting  it.  All  stores,  however,  have  requests  for 
credit  from  those  who  have  no  right  to  expect  it.   If  they 
are  quietly  told  that  the  rule  of  the  store  forbids  it  they 
are  satisfied,  but  if  the  salesman  steps  back  to  ask  the  pro- 
prietor or  manager  about  it,  they  know  that  the  store  does 
grant  credit,  and  if  they  are  refused  they  cannot  but  hold 
a  grudge  against  the  store  and  its  manager,  who  refuses 
to  them  a  courtesy  granted  to  others.    If  all  salesmen 
would  remember  this  one  fact,  much  trouble  of  this  na- 
ture could  be  avoided.    That  is,  if  a  customer  requests 
credit  and  you  feel  as  though  you  would  not  want  to  as- 
sume the  responsibility  yourself,  that  vou  might  better 
refuse  the  request  than  to  step  to  anyone  else  and  have 
them  refuse  for  you.    It  hurts  the  store  to  have  a  credit 
man  or  manager  remove  such  a  job  from  a  salesman's 
shoulders,  whereas  it  is  accepted  as  a  matter  of  course  if 
promptly  and  positively  given.    So  it  is  with  prices  on 
goods.  If  a  customer  asks  if  a  particular  piece  of  goods 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS.  343 


can  be  sold  for  less  than  the  price  asked  and  the  salesman 
responds  promptly  and  positively  that  no  deviation  is 
made  from  the  marked  price,  how  much  better  it  is  than 
for  him  to  step  to  the  proprietor  and  make  the  customer's 
request.  It  is  a  public  acknowledgment  of  of  the  fact  that 
there  is  no  stability  to  the  concern,  that  all  you  have  to 
do  is  to  hold  out  and  you  will  get  what  you  are  looking 
for. 

If  a  customer  asks  you  about  a  diamond  which  you 
have  for  sale,  tell  him  in  positive  terms  just  what  kind  of 
a  stone  it  is.  Do  not  be  afraid  that  you  will  lose  the  sale 
if  you  tell  him  the  stone  is  imperfect.  You  have  other 
goods  costing  more,  which  are  perfect.  Explain  diflfer- 
ences.  Do  not  attempt  to  dodge  a  question  regarding 
your  goods.  Be  first  and  last  honest  and  positive  in  your 
statements. 

Train  your  customers  to  know  that  your  store  is  run  on 
the  "positive"  plan ;  that  the  goods  are  all  bought  at  right 
prices  and  from  reliable  firms ;  that  the  price  charged  in- 
cludes a  fair  profit;  that  these  prices,  once  established 
cannot  be  changed ;  that  proprietor  and  salesman  stand 
on  an  ecjuality  as  to  this  feature ;  that  it  does  not  matter 
whether  the  customer  is  experienced  in  such  matters  or 
not,  whether  an  adult  or  a  young  child,  they  can  depend 
absolutely  upon  the  statements  of  salesmen  and  upon  the 
absolute  reliability  and  fixity  of  the  price.  That  there  is 
no  such  thing  known  in  your  store  as  ''special  privileges." 
That  all  customers  look  alike  to  you  and  all  receive  the 
same  consideration. 

Conduct  your  business  on  these  principles  and  you  will 
find  that  your  younger  salesmen  are  continually  making 
more  and  larger  sales,  but  if  you  choose  to  train  your 
trade  to  the  knowledge  that  you  are  the  one  man  in  the 
store  who  can  cut  the  price,  who  can  promise  engraving 
immediately,  who  can  have  a  job  previously  left  set  aside 
that  one  you  have  just  received  can  be  done,  you  will  find 
that  you  are  placing  upon  your  shoulders  new  and  added 
burdens ;  that  instead  of  your  business  growing,  it  is  still 
a  one  man  affair.   The  only  way  that  you  can  develop 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


your  business  is  to  adopt  a  system  of  doing  things  and 
then  abiding  by  that  system  yourself,  compelling  all  others 
to  do  likewise. 

**Be  sure  you  are  right,  then  go  ahead,"  is  good  advice 
for  all  to  follow.  Do  not  place  prices  on  goods  which  you 
do  not  think  are  fair  ;  fair  to  yourself  and  also  to  your 
customer.  Do  not  adopt  restrictive  rules  only  to  be 
broken. 

Have  all  stand  upon  an  equality  behind  your  counter 
and  all  upon  a  level  in  front  of  it. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


345 


CHAPTER  LXXXIX. 


ENTERPRISE  AND  ENTHUSIASM  HAND  IN  HAND. 

Enterprise  Demands  Keeping  Stock  Spotfess  —  RtifitifSyfffn 
Makes  Such  Work  Easy  and  Pleasant-Always  Speak  En- 
couragingly of  Business  Present  and  Prospective— Pres- 
tige of  Little  Value  if  Goods  are  Unattractive— Every- 
thing Saleable  il  Kept  in  Saleable  Condition. 

MANY  enterprising  business  men  lack  enthusiasm, 
and  very  often  the  enthusiastic  man  lacks  enter- 
prise. They  should  go  hand  in  hand,  for  with- 
out enthusiasm  the  enterprising  man  loses  much  of  the 
good  of  his  enterprise,  while  enthusiasm  without  enter- 
prise is  like  unto  "faith  without  works." 

Enterprise  demands  that  you  shall  keep  your  store  in 
the  same  spotless  array  in  the  sunmier  season  as  in  the 
fall  buying  season.  One  cannot  successfully  conduct 
a  store  by  keeping  it  open  during  the  busy  season 
and  closed  at  other  times.  One  cannot  allow  his  show 
window  to  present  a  neglected  appearance  during  the 
hot,  sultry  weather,  promising  himself  that  he  will 
work  all  the  harder  when  fall  comes..  One  cannot 
allow  the  same  advertisement  to  stand  week  in  and 
week  out  during  the  summer,  or  cut  out  the  advertising 
altogether,  believing  that  he  can  make  up  for  all  this 
in  the  fall.  Every  day  has  its  work.  You  cannot  do 
to-day's  work  to-morrow  and  do  to-morrow's  work  also. 
Once  you  begin  to  fall  behind  you  are  beginning  to  pro- 
gress in  the  wrong  direction.  It  will  save  you  months  of 
hard  work  catching  up  if  you  will  keep  on  the  move  all 
the  time.  True  enough,  it  does  seem  like  a  waste  of  good 
time,  recarding  jewelry  at  this  season  of  the  year  and  re- 
storing finish  of  goods,  when  the  same  work  will  have  to 
be  done  again  within  two  or  three  months,  but  the  satis- 


346 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


facticm  to  yourself  of  being  able  to  show  the  customers 
who  do  enter  your  store  your  stock  in  spick  and  span  con- 
dition alone  repays  you,  while  the  present  sales  as  well 
as  the  future  ones,  will  return  you  ccmipound  interest  for 
your  time  and  enterprise.  Keeping  your  courage  high 
helps  wonderfully  in  such  work.  If  you  have  some  of 
your  goods  dean^  or  re-colored  speak  a  word  of  encour- 
agement to  3rour  men  who  have  done  the  work.  It  will 
make  much  easier  the  next  batch  of  work. 

Hot  weather  advertising  is  read  by  a  great  many  peo- 
who  do  more  sitting  around  on  piazzas  and  summer 
reading  than  you  can  well  imagine.  You  have  goods  in 
your  stock  sudi  as  lemonade  and  sherbet  sets,  ice  pitchers, 
water  sets,  particularly  appropriate  for  summer  use. 
Menticm  them  in  your  advertising.  Show  the  people  that 
you  are  strictly  up  to  the  minute.  But,  if  through  your 
enterprise  people  are  brought  to  your  store  to  look  at  the 
articles  mentioned,  do  not  greet  them  in  a  half-hearted 
way  or  act  as  though  you  were  half  dead.  If  asked  how 
business  is,  just  consider  how  business  usually  is  in  the 
warm  weather  and  do  not  immediately  begin  to  grumble 
about  your  business  or  lack  of  it.  Speak  encouragingly 
about  business,  present  and  lurospective.  If  customers 
ask  you  if  you  are  selling  many  of  such  and  such  goods, 
do  not  be  afraid  to  say  that  your  sales  are  entirely  satis- 
factory. You  do  not  have  to  tell  how  many  you  have 
sold.  Enterprise  and  enthusiasm  demand  that  you  shall 
put  your  best  foot  foremost,  which  certainly  means  hav- 
ing everything  in  your  store  present  an  attractive  appear- 
ance. It  means  one  continual  job  of  cleaning,  but  you 
will  find  that  you  will  have  fewer  shop  worn  goods  ac- 
cumulating on  your  shelves  and  in  your  showcases.  You 
will  find  that  you  can  do  more  business  with  the  same 
sized  stock  than  formerly. 

The  buying  of  new  goods  to  freshen  up  a  lot  of  back 
numbers  will  be  unnecessary,  for  you  will  have  none  such 
in  stock.  The  goods  whidi  you  already  have  on  hand 
differ  usually  but  in  one  way  from  those  which  are  of- 
fered you  by  the  traveling  men,  that  is,  one  lot  is  clean 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


347 


and  fresh,  while  the  other  is  soiled  and  dirty.  Soap,  wa- 
ter, ammonia,  soda  and  elbow  grease  will  usually  make 
your  goods  look  like  those  shown  you.  Re-coloring  Ro- 
man finished  goods  makes  such  goods  practically  new. 
Cut  glass  needs  occasicmal  washing  out,  while  silverware 
accumulates  tarnish  so  easily  as  to  necessitate  a  continual 
performance  of  cleaning.  The  writer  asked  ttut  manager 
of  a  larjg;e  silverware  concern  how  they  managed  to  keep 
everything  looking  so  nice  around  the  establishment.  The 
reply  was  that  two  men  were  kept  busy  all  the  time  doing 
nothing  but  cleaning  and  polishing.  Prestige  of  a  concern 
counts  for  nothing  if  the  goods  t^mselves  do  not  look  at- 
tractive. 

Carrying  a  complete  stock  may  obtain  for  you  the  repu- 
tation of  being  enterprising.  The  use  of  interestit^  ad- 
vertising may  back  up  this  reputation,  but  if  your  goods 
belie  your  words,  no  matter  how  big  a  stock  you  have,  the 
sn^U  store  with  a  few  bright  looking  pieces  of  goods  can 
take  your  trade  away  from  you.  Most  pec^le  understand 
that  gold  and  silver  goods  tarnish  but  they  do  not.  like  to 
buy  them  in  that  condition.  People  who  have  handsome 
lawns  can  tell  you  how  easy  the  weeds  grow  and  what  an 
effort  is  required  to  keep  them  culled  out.  The  hours  that 
one  man  spends  in  such  work  is  repaid  by  the  appearance 
of  his  lawn  and  the  commendatory  remarks  which  his 
neighbors  and  passersby  are  pleased  to  make.  If  one  were 
desirous  of  selling  his  property  he  would  find  that  his 
lawn  upon  which  he  had  spent  so  many  hours  of  labor 
would  materially  assist  him  in  disposing  of  the  house  at  a 
profit  over  what  he  had  paid  for  it,  while  his  neighbor,' 
with  a  crop  of  weeds  growing  in  front  and  back  of  his 
house,  would  have  to  discount  his  price  to  make  up  for 
his  neglect  of  things  during  his  ownership  and  occupancy 
of  the  house. 

It  is  said  that  the  rear  yard  of  a  man's  premises  really 
shows  what  his  characteristics  are  for  neatness  and  care. 
The  front  he  must  keep  in  fairly  good  shape  for  very 
shame's  sake,  but  the  back  yard  is  his,  where  he  can  throw 
tin  cans  and  ashes  if  he  wishes  along  by  his  fence  and 


348  EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


very  few  people  will  ever  observe  it.  So  it  is  with  the 
jeweler  who  keeps  the  goods  in  the  front  cases  in  fairly 
good  shape,  while  those  which  are  further  back  in  the 
store  present  a  neglected  appearance.  In  many  stores, 
when  an  article  is  finally  shifted  to  a  certain  case  in  the 
rear  it  means  that  it  is  not  considered  salable  and  that  its 
days  of  usefulness  are  over.  If  jewelers  would  only  rec- 
ognize the  fact  that  practically  every  article  they  buy  is 
salable  if  kept  in  salable  condition,  stocks  would  be  clean- 
er and  bank  accounts  larger. 

If  one  has  in  stock  goods  which  he  is  ashamed  to  dis- 
play because  of  their  condition  it  means  that  when  he  has 
a  call  for  such  goods  he  will  say  that  he  is  out  of  them 
sooner  than  show  them.  If  you  ever  have  an  experience 
like  that  one,  please  take  the  tray  of  goods  after  the  cus- 
tomer departs  and  put  them  in  condition  so  that  the  next 
applicant  can  be  shown  them. 

Enterprise  requires  enthusiasm  in  order  to  maintain  it- 
self. We  must  "forget  the  things  which  are  behind"  if 
they  are  discouraging  and  be  able  to  see  the  "rainbow  of 
promise"  just  ahead  of  us.  The  other  jeweler  cannot 
take  your  trade  unless  you  work  for  him  instead  of  your- 
self. But  if  he  is  working  to  get  your  trade  and  you  are 
losing  your  enterprise  about  waiting  on  trade  and  your 
enthusiasm  for  hard  work,  he  cannot  help  but  take  an  oc- 
casional customer  from  you.  Hold  your  trade  and  make 
new  customers  by  your  enthusiasm  and  enterprise. 


i 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS,  349 


CHAPTER  XC. 


KEEPING  ONE'S  COURAGE  HIGH. 

Bravery  in  Business — Success  Breeds  Success — Never  Talk 
Hard  Times — Optimism  an  Aid  to  Salesmanship — En- 
couragement for  Salespeople — Courage,  Enthusiasm  and 
Suggestion  Make  a  Strong  Team. 

BRAVERY,  when  exemplified  on  the  field  of  battle, 
always  kindles  admiration  among  those  who  wit- 
ness it  or  read  of  it  afterwards.   Such  sayings  as 

Lord  Nelson's,  ''England  expects  every  man  to  do  his 
duty;"  Lawrence's,  "Don't  give  up  the  ship;"  Grant's,  "I 
will  light  it  out  on  this  line  if  it  takes  all  summer,"  and 
the  wonderful  rides  of  Paul  Revere  at  Lexington,  of 
Sheridan  at  Winchester,  Washington's  crossing  of  the 
Delaware,  are  familiar  to  all.  But  in  every  one  of  these 
cases,  each  man  did  no  more  than  his  duty,  yet  their 
names  are  held  in  high  veneration  by  all.  But  there  are 
heroes  unnamed  whose  deeds  will  never  be  mentioned, 
who  have  fought  a  good  fight,  many  to  victory  and  still 
others  to  defeat.  The  men  who  are  engaged  in  business 
must  needs  be  brave  and  valiant  bearers  of  burdens,  or 
Uie  world  will  immediately  note  their  weakness  and  de- 
sert them  when  they  most  need  support. 

All  the  world  admires  success.  Therefore  to  achieve 
success,  one  must  at  least  appear  to  have  attained  it.  This 
means  that  whatever  the  real  condition  of  business  may 
be,  whatever  the  future  prospects  may  be,  the  business 
man  who  hopes  to  ultimately  win  out  must  hold  up  his 
banner  in  a  brave  style  and  fight  onward  and  upward  to 
the  end.  He  must  present  to  all  comers  the  appearance 
of  having  dcme  a  remarkably  good  business  last  week, 
and  show  that  he  expects  to  better  it  this  week.  There  is 
nothing  more  contagious  than       talk  of  business  condi- 


3lo 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


tions.  A  few  years  ago  during  the  temporary  hard  times, 
many  whose  salaries  were  just  the  same  and  who  occu- 
pied state  or  city  jobs  where  there  was  no  prospective  cut 
in  wages,  imbibed  the  general  tone  of  affairs  to  such  an 
extent  that  they  also  began  talking  hard  times.  Many 
others,  when  asked  what  they  knew  about  hard  times, 
would  answer  that  the  papers  were  full  of  it.  We,  who 
are  in  the  jewelry  business  as  a  pastime  and  incidentally 
as  a  means  of  livehhood,  must  always  keep  our  courage 
high  and  keep  others  in  the  same  mood,  because  jewelry 
can  be  dispensed  with  about  as  easily  as  anything  else 
you  can  mention.  Business  should  be  at  least  "fair"  al- 
ways. Some  people  who  are  contemplating  the  purchase 
of  an  expensive  piece  of  jewelry  will  hold  off  spmetimes 
considering  whether  they  had  better  put  the  money  in  the 
article  or  not ;  whether  they  will  regret  its  purchase  and 
need  the  money  for  other  more  useful  things.  Such  peo- 
ple often  will  ask  questions  about  business  in  order  to 
learn  whether  others  are  purchasing  to  any  extent  goods 
in  which  they  are  interested.  Be  always  tactful  enough 
so  that  you  will  never  discourage  intending  purchasers  by 
your  actions.  From  many  jewelers  you  will  always  get 
the  same  response  if  you  ask  them  how  business  is.  To 
them  business  is  always  poor;  they  are  sorry  they  are  in 
the  jewelry  business,  and  so  on.  They  would  make  any 
one  hesitate  about  putting  money  into  goods  for  which 
there  was  no  apparent  demand. 

Keeping  one's  courage  high  makes  him  a  better  sales- 
man. Always  expect  to  sell  a  man  even  though  he  leave 
without  purchasing.  He  will  come  back,  or  he  did  not 
want  to  buy  to-day.  Encourage  yourself  in  this  wise, 
and  the  encouraging  part  about  this  method  is  the  fact 
that  it  is  for  the  most  part  true.  Hitching  your  wagon 
to  a  star  may  not  always  be  practicable,  but  we  can  cer- 
tainly do  much  to  encourage  ourselves  by  mental  sugges- 
tion. In  stores  where  there  are  several  salespeople,  en- 
courage them  by  telling  them  that  they  handled  the  cus- 
tomer well,  that  they  certainly  made  a  good  impression 
upon  them  and  that  the  chances  are  that  they  will  return. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


351 


If  there  is  any  one  thing  which  will  make  it  impossible 
for  a  salesman  to  succeed  it  is  to  be  called  down  for  his 
failure  to  land  a  sale.  Suggestions  can  be  easily  §^vcn 
as  to  improvements  possible  when  you  compliment  him 
for  his  efforts.  Proprietors  seeking  the  best  results  from 
their  salespeople  will  do  well  to  let  each  one  handle  the 
customer  who  comes  to  them  to  be  served,  widiout  inter- 
ference. None  are  infallible,  and  ofttimes  an  intending 
purchaser  about  to  leave  the  store  will  resent  being  called 
to  account  by  the  owner  or  manager  of  the  store  for  not 
purchasing.  Never  act  as  though  you  considered  that  if 
a  person  left  your  store  without  purchasing  your  chance 
was  lost  forever.  Extend  to  all  comers  true  hospitality 
with  a  desire  to  serve  them  intelligently  and  well ;  be  ap- 
preciative of  the  call,  and  whether  a  purchase  is  made  or 
not  at  the  time,  show  that  you  consider  it  a  plea^re  to 
have  shown  your  line  of  the  goods  in  question. 

Many  customers  will  invariably  look  at  goods  in  sev- 
eral stores  and  will  want  to  think  the  matter  over  at  home 
before  making  final  decision.  All  other  things  being 
equal,  and  sometimes  when  they  are  not  equal  the  store 
where  they  are  treated  in  the  most  courteous  manner  will 
get  the  sale.  There  is  one  thing  for  jewelers  in  small 
cities  to  remember,  and  that  is  that  their  customers  (so 
called)  are  perhaps  perscmal  acquaintances  of  several  of 
his  competitors.  It  may  be  a  very  difficult  matter  for 
them  to  decide  where  to  buy  their  jewelry  or  silverware, 
and  when  they  start  out  to  look  for  the  article  in  mind 
it  is  perhaps  an  open  question  as  to  where  to  buy.  Oft- 
times  the  selection  of  goods  will  be  the  governing  reason; 
then  again,  it  may  be  the  price ;  but  after  all  is  said  and 
done,  it  is  in  reality  the  salesman  who  makes  the  sale  in 
such  a  case,  because  he  can  surely  find  a  suitable  article 
at  the  desired  price.  If  he  is  of  the  stmny  disposition 
style,  who  always  looks  on  the  bright  side  of  things,  he 
can  certainly  come  nearer  to  making  the  sale  than  will  his 
disconsolate  looking  competitor.  People  who  enter  a  jew- 
eler's in  search  of  a  present  are  usually  in  a  happy  mood. 
It  is  usually  a  gift  significant  of  some  happy  occasion. 


352 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS, 


Chnstmas,  a  birthday,  a  wedding,  an  anniversary  or  a 
graduation ;  all  happy  events  in  themselves,  and  tending 
to  make  the  intending  purchaser  in  a  similar  mood.  The 
only  reascm  for  any  worrimcnt  on  the  part  of  the  cus- 
tomer IS  rf^ding  the  selection  of  a  suitable  article  at  a 
suitable  price.  If  the  salesman  is  acc(»nmodating  and 
demonstrates  a  dispositi(Mi  to  be  helpful  in  suggesting 
proper  articles  for  presents  and  is  able  to  enthuse  over 
the  proposed  present,  his  chances  of  maldng  the  sale  are 
ten  to  one  greater  than  if  he  is  cM  and  vwd  of  senti- 
ment. He  must  be  able  to  put  himself  in  the  customer's 
place  and  to  think  just  what  he  would  buy  if  he  were  re- 
quired to  give  a  similar  present.  His  training  and  han- 
dling of  the  goods  certainly  makes  him  well  qualified  to 
offer  advice  and  suggestions,  and  if  he  can  place  before  his 
customer  novelties  in  his  line  which  are  appropriate  he 
is  certainly  much  more  liaWe  to  make  a  sale  than  as 
though  he  places  before  them  the  conventicMial  and  sta- 
ple articles  which  will  be  shown  them  by  every  dealer  in 
the  town. 

Keeping  one's  courage  high  makes  him  more  capable 
of  enthusiasm,  enthusiasm  makes  him  more  capable  of 
suggestion,  and  suggestion  makes  him  more  capable  of 
salesmanship. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS, 


353 


CHAPTER  XCI. 


CONFINING  STOCK  TO  SPECIAL  LINES. 

Complete  Stock  Versus  Best  Styles  of  Many  Lines^Reliable 
Goods  Made  by  Many  Factories — Established  Reputation 
of  Value  Where  Stock  is  Confined  to  Few  Lines— The 
Benefits  Arising  Prom  ^e  Guarantee. 

IN  these  days  of  almost  uncounted  lines  of  goods,  it  is 
somewhat  of  a  proposition  to  decide  whether  it  is 
better  to  carry  a  conglomeration  of  what  we  think 
to  be  the  best  pieces  of  each  line,  or  whether  we  had  bet- 
ter confine  ourselves  strictly  to  two  or  three  lines  of  goods 
and  carry  these  lines  completely.  Many  stores  keep  a  few 
pieces  of  goods  which  they  do  not  feature  and  merely 
maintain  them  in  stock  for  the  purpose  of  knocking. 
This  is  not  fair.  If  a  line  is  called  for  repeatedly  and 
we  have  reason  to  believe  that  it  would  sell  readily  if 
we  kept  it  in  stock,  we  should  certainly  add  the  goods 
and  be  prepared  to  satisfy  the  demand  which  has  been 
created  by  the  manufacturer.  Oftentimes  jewelers  feel 
compelled  to  speak  against  any  line  of  goods  for  which 
they  have  call  and  which  they  do  not  carry  in  stock. 
Such  methods  are  entirely  unworthy  our  consideration 
or  practice.  Most  customers  are  reasonable.  If  you 
will  state  the  case  to  them  clearly  you  will  seldom  lose 
a  sale.  Tell  them  that  you  do  not  carry  the  line  of 
goods  for  which  they  ask  and  state  your  reasons  for  not 
carrying  it.  Tell  them  that  the  line  they  ask  for  is  a  good 
make,  reliable  in  every  way,  and  will  give  them  satisfac- 
tion if  they  buy  it.  However,  you  carry  in  stock  what 
you  consider  even  better  value  for  the  money,  and  show 
them  what  line  you  feature. 

Take,  for  instance,  the  cut  glass  department.  We  have 
calls  every  week  for  a  line  of  cut  glass  which  we  do  not 


354 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


handle,  because  the  rule  of  the  makers  is  to  allow  but  one 
in  a  city  of  this  size  to  have  it.  We  answer  such  inquiries 
to  the  effect  that  we  do  not  carry  the  line  in  question  be- 
cause of  their  custom  to  establish  agencies  in  cities,  and, 
the  hne  having  been  previously  assigned,  we  cannot  get  it. 
We  explain  that  we  would  be  very  glad  to  have  the  par- 
ticular brand  in  stock,  not  because  it  is  any  better  than 
what  we  already  have  on  hand,  but  because  of  the  value 
of  Its  advertising.  While  conceding  to  the  malnrs  in 
question  the  reputation  of  making  reliable  goods,  we  es- 
tablish in  the  customer's  mind  the-  fact  that,  with  the  large 
number  of  cut  glass  factories  in  the  country,  each  vieing 
with  the  others  to  turn  out  superior  goods  as  to  styles, 
finish,  etc.,  it  is  folly  to  believe  that  one  brand  is  the  only 
one  which  combines  the  features  for  which  they  seek. 
We  assure  them  that  we  understand  why  they  ask  for  the 
brand  in  question  is  because  they  feel  that  satisfaction  is 
assured,  but  we  also  tell  them  that  we  could  not  afford 
to  sell  them  anything  if  we  did  not  positively  know  that 
we  were  giving  them  dollar  for  doUar  even  better  value 
than  they  could  obtain  in  tlii|i||HM  for.  We  seldom 
lose  a  sale  because  of  not  ha^|^^p^rand  called  for. 

It  seems  to  me  that,  wherevSpdble  to  do  so,  one 
consults  his  own  best  interests  1^  confining  his  lines. 
You  can  certainly  put  up  a  much  better  argument  for 
goods  which  you  have,  if  a  special  line,  than  you  can  if 
you  have  innumerable  makes  in  stock.  Any  store  of  es- 
tablished reputation  for  honesty  and  int^;rity,  can  come 
pretty  near  selling  its  customers  from  stock,  because  if 
they  have  bought  goods  from  you  before  and  have  come 
back  for  more  it  certainly  stands  to  reason  that  what  they 
have  had  was  satisfactory  and  they  are  willing  to  believe 
your  statements  on  any  other  goods  which  they  contem- 
plate purchasing. 

Dealers  ofttimes  feel  as  though  they  must  have  repre- 
sented in  their  stock  leading  makes  of  all  kinds  and 
classes  of  goods.  Let  us  consider  for  a  moment  or  two 
how  this  places  you.  You  carry,  we  will  say,  several  dif- 
ferent makes  of  fountain  pens  so  as  to  be  ready  for  any 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


35S 


calls  you  may  have.  You  have  perhaps  a  dozen,  or  twa 
dozen,  of  three  or  four  different  makes.  Which  one  do- 
you  recommend  to  a  customer  who  enters  your  store  ta 
buy  a  pen?  If  you  say  they  are  all  good  you  have  hard 
work  to  get  him  down  to  the  actual  business  of  buying 
and  paying  for  a  pen.  If  you  recommend  one  make  par- 
ticularly, ten  chances  to  one  you  will  not  have  the  style 
pen  or  required  point  which  he  will  want.  The  result  is 
that  he  leaves,  promising  perhaps  to  come  in  again,  and 
straightway  goes  to  the  store  which  features  the  particu- 
lar pen  which  you  have  recommended,  which  store  can 
give  him  the  benefit  of  perhaps  six  dozen  to  a  gross  to> 
select  from.  You  have  merely  given  an  endorsement  of 
the  pen  and  assisted  the  dealer  who  carried  the  stock  to 
make  the  sale.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  you  carried  but  one 
make  and  had  shown  the  carying  styles  and  points,  all  of 
your  talking  about  that  one  particular  pen  would  almost 
positively  have  made  the  sale. 

In  watches  the  same  condition  obtains  to  even  a  greater 
extent.  The  desire  properly  to  represent  the  different 
makers  of  watches  in  your  stock  naturally  ties  up  consid- 
erable money  which  prevents  you  from  carrying  other 
productive  lines.  Each  watch  company  makes  a  varying 
line.  Each  has  its  watches  for  which  from  time  to  time 
you  have  call.  Would  it  not  pay  you  to  get  such  grades 
specially  than  to  try  and  carry  them  always  in  stock?  The 
movements  made  by  different  manufacturers  are  very 
similar  as  to  timekeeping  qualities.  Why  then  is  it  nec- 
essary to  carry  too  diversified  a  line?  It  is  usually  up  to- 
the  jeweler  to  recommend  a  watch  to  his  trade.  With 
few  exceptions  they  are  willing  to  accept  your  judgment 
on  such  matters  as  superior  to  their  own.  The  writer 
does  not  mean  to  infer  that  substitution  of  different 
makes  than  those  asked  for  is  either  necessary  or  desir- 
able. Reasons  can  always  be  given  for  not  carrying  cer- 
tain watches  in  stock  which  do  not  discredit  the  watch  in 
question.  The  necessity  of  limiting  stock  because  of  space 
or  capital  explains  tlie  absence  of  certain  goods  and  also- 
explains  just  why  yuu  have  chosen  other  goods  to  their 


356 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


•exclusion.  The  offer  to  obtain  desired  goods  if  the  cus- 
tomer win  give  you  the  necessary  time,  or  to  make  ex- 
changes in  the  course  of  two  or  three  days,  will  cenerallv 
be  satisfactory.  .  ^  »       &  j 

The  fact  that  all  his  dealings  are  with  the  retail  jeweler 
establishes  in -the  mind  of  the  customer  the  fact  that  he  is 
the  man  who  is  guaranteeing  the  watch  or  fountain  pen 
or  silverware  or  hall  clock.  This  is  the  retailer's  greatest 
stock  in  trade.  We  often  talk  about  abolishing  the  cus- 
tom of  guaranteeing  goods,  but  that  is  the  cornerstone  of 
the  retail  jeweler's  business.  True,  the  guarantee  busi- 
ness is  worked  overtime  and  to  excess,  but  it  is  absolutely 
true  that  it  gives  the  retail  jeweler  the  inside  of  the  track 
and  makes  possible  many  sales  which  otherwise  would 
De  lost. 

Selling  goods  which  sell  too  easily  will  never  help  you 
to  build  up  a  trade  or  reputation.  Selling  goods  in  which 
you  wrap  up  your  individuality  with  the  article  estab- 
lishes you  as  the  jeweler  of  many  a  household.  Individ- 
uality has  made  all  of  our  best  houses,  and  the  concerns 
whose  names  are  household  words  throughout  the  length 
and  breadth  of  this  country  are  those  who  have  sold  reli- 
able goods  which  they  have  featured  specially  or  exclu- 
sively. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


357 


CHAPTER  XCII, 


TACTICS  FOR  THUltBSERVE  FORCES. 

Not  Good  Policy  to  Present  Whole  Argument  at  Once— 
Show  Best  Grades  First  with  Reasons  for  Their  Purchase 
— Sales  of  Sterling  Ware  Mean  Future  Matching — The 
Safe  as  a  Base  of  Supplies — ^Relative  Difference  in  Prtce^ 
Value  and  Quality. 

AN  incident  related  by  a  missionary  from  one  of  our 
leading  watch  factories  the  other  day,  suggested 
the  subject  of  this  article.  He  was  in  a  retail  jew- 
elry store  displaying  his  movements,  when  a  customer  en- 
tered the  store  and  asked  to  be  shown  a  watch.  The  re- 
tailer picked  out  a  watch  from  his  trays  and  placed  it 
on  the  showcase,  with  the  remark,  'There's  as  good  a 
watch  as  you  need  carry,  and  I  can  sell  it  to  you  for  $12." 
He  had  said  it  all  when  he  stopped.  He  had  no  reserve 
forces  to  bring  to  his  aid  to  complete  the  sale.  The  mis- 
sionary went  on  to  say  that  the  customer  noticing  his 
goods,  inquired  of  the  jeweler  about  them,  and  the  jeweler 
requesting  accordingly,  the  experienced  watch  man  took 
up  the  matter  of  showing  his  goods,  with  the  result  that  a 
sale  was  made  of  a  high  grade  movement  in  a  filled  case 
for  $55.  The  customer  left  his  order  and  payment  in  full 
and  departed,  whereupon  the  jeweler  stated  to  the  mis- 
sionary that  "the  sale  was  an  easy  one."  The  missionary 
called  his  attention  to  the  fact  that  he  should  have  tried  to 
sell  the  man  a  suitable  chain  while  he  was  in  the  buying 
mood,  but  the  jeweler  had  never  thought  of  that. 

To  resume  the  subject,  we  should  always  have  some- 
thing in  reserve  to  display  and  to  talk  about.  Do  not 
hand  out  your  whole  argument  in  one  or  two  sentences. 
Do  not  display  a  low  priced  article  and  then  give  it  a  tes- 
timonial of  such  a  character  that  you  cannot  speak  in  any 


558 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS, 


higher  terms  of  an  article  costing  twice  or  three  times  as 
much.  Do  not  always  size  up  your  customer  to  be 
"cheap."  Oftentimes  a  man  will  ask  for  a  cheap  watch, 
meaning  that  he  does  not  care  for  a  solid  gold  case.  But 
he  would  not  be  in  your  store  at  all,  if  he  did  not  want  to 
buy  something  better  than  the  hardware  dealer  or  depart- 
ment store  features.  When  a  customer  enters  your  store 
with  such  an  expression,  tell  him  that  you  do  not  know 
just  what  he  means  by  a  cheap  watch.  Perhaps  his  idea 
of  low  prices  refers  only  to  a  moderate  priced  case.  As- 
sure him  that  you  have  watches  at  all  prices  for  which  re- 
liable movements  can  be  sold,  but  advise  against  buying 
one  at  any  less  price  than  he  can  afford  to  pay.  Argue  on 
the  longevity  of  a  watch,  and  urge  them  to  buy  a  first- 
class  movement  if  they  can  aflPord  it.  Show  them  your 
best  watches  in  solid  gold  cases.  Show  them  that  you 
have  them  selling  for  one  hundred  dollars  and  more. 
Then  when  you  work  down  in  the  scale,  they  will  appre- 
ciate the  fact  that  it  is  not  really  a  good  piece  of  business 
on  their  part  to  buy  the  lowest  priced  watch  made.  When 
they  reach  the  one  which  they  can  pay  for,  you  will  find 
that  they  will  buy  it  and  that  instead  of  its  being  a  five  or 
ten  dollar  trade,  it  will  often  be  a  twenty  or  thirty  dollar 
one,  whereas,  if  you  had  started  in  at  the  five  dollar  watch 
it  is  very  doubtful  if  you  could  have  raised  them  to  a  bet- 
ter price  than  perhaps  ten  or  twelve  dollars.  Because  the 
movement  in  the  first  watch  you  show  them  must  be  guar- 
anteed, therefore,  practically  the  only  change  you  can 
make  is  to  have  them  buy  the  same  movement  in  a  gold 
filled  case.  You  w'ill  see  the  advisability  of  beginning  at 
your  best  watches  and  holding  the  cheaper  ones  in  re- 
serve, because  it  is  much  easier  to  come  down  the  scale 
than  to  go  up  it. 

As  it  is  with  the  watch  proposition,  so  it  is  with  prac- 
tically everything  in  your  store.  The  customer  for  a  neck 
chain  may  buy  a  gold  filled  one  anyway,  whether  you 
show^  them  the  gold  first  or  not,  but  there  is  one  thing  al>- 
solutely  certain,  you  will  sell  very  few  gold  ones  if  you 
show  and  urge  the  purchase  of  the  gold  filled  You  can 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


359 


never  hurt  the  feelings  of  a  prospective  customer  by  dis- 
playing fine  quality  goods.  The  seeker  after  a  wedding 
gift  can  often  be  persuaded  to  buy  sterling  silver  in  pref- 
erence to  the  silver  plated,  if  properly  shown  the  advan- 
tages of  so  buying.  But,  if  you  start  in  with  the  plated 
ware  and  laud  its  many  good  points,  guaranteeing  many 
years  of  service,  you  will  probably  sell  many  pieces  of 
plated  goods  at  lower  prices  with  correspondingly  less 
profits,  when  you  could  have  sold  a  smaller  piece  of  ster- 
ling which  would  insure  absolute  satisfaction  to  the  final 
recipient,  better  satisfaction  in  the  end  to  the  purchaser, 
and  a  lasting  advertisement  to  you.  In  this  connectioiir 
bear  in  mind  that  it  is  usually  sterling  silver  which  people 
desire  to  match  out  and  on  which  much  of  your  business 
in  that  line  depends.  And  then,  if  you  cannot  land  them 
on  sterling  silver  you  still  have  the  plated  goods  to  show 
tiiem. 

In  displaying  diamonds  do  not  insult  the  inquirer  for 
a  small  stone  by  showing  them  the  smallest  diamond  you 
have  in  the  place.  Show  them  a  st<Mie  around  a  half 
karat,  then  one  of  ^  karat,  and  then  a  quarter-loirat 
stone.  If  they  are  looking  for  something  smaller  they 
will  ask  for  it.  Always  believe  that  the  customer  who  will 
pay  twenty-five  dollars  for  an  article  will  if  shown  a  good 
reason  for  so  doing,  pay  thirty-five  or  forty  dollars  for 
a  similar  article  of  better  quality  or  more  desirable  size. 

Remember  to  have  something  in  reserve  in  your  safe. 
Very  often  the  customer  hard  to  suit  with  the  goods 
which  you  have  in  stock  will  purchase  without  hesitation 
a  similar  article  taken  from  your  sslfe.  We  find  this  plan 
to  work  well  on  almost  every  style  of  article  in  your  store. 
Watches  or  chains  shown  specially,  a  ring,  a  scarf  pin, 
or  a  pair  of  cuff  buttons  which  are  not  displayed  where 
every  one  can  see  than,  will  often  be  grasp^  at  as  being 
something  which  is  exclusive  or  particularly  desirable. 
The  request  to  a  fellow  salesman  to  bring  you  those  new 
rings  which  are  in  the  safe  will  raise  ^  expectations  of 
the  customer,  and  instead  of  departing  they  will  stay  to 
see  just  what  it  is  that  is  held  in  reserve.  The  statement 


36o 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS, 


of  the  salesman  that  "these  rings  have  just  come  in  and 
will  not  be  placed  in  stock  until  such  a  date,  or  until  so 
many  more  rings  are  sold,"  will  make  the  customer  deter- 
mined to  have  one  of  those  special  rings,  and  nine  times 
out  of  ten  a  sale  will  result  either  then  or  subsequently. 
Very  often  we  have  had  customers  come  in  to  look  at 
goods  and  have  them  say,  "he  took  them  from  the  safe  ta 
show  me,  as  they  were  something  which  had  just  come 
in."  Most  people  are  susceptible  to  flattery,  and  will  ap- 
preciate a  favor  of  this  kind.  Goods  taken  from  the  safe 
have  not  been  handled  so  much  and  present  a  newer  and 
richer  appearance  and  tend  to  make  much  easier  the  actu- 
al completion  of  a  sale. 

As  it  is  with  the  goods  themselves,  so  it  is  with  your 
selling  talk.  Do  not  say  any  more  than  is  necessary  to 
effect  the  sale,  but  always  be  ready  with  additional  facts 
of  interest.  Have  as  complete  a  knowledge  of  the  goods 
as  you  can  acquire  by  an  intimate  study  of  them  and  the 
reading  of  all  descriptive  matter.  In  talking  diamonds  do 
not  always  talk  weight;  in  talking  watch  movements  do 
not  always  talk  jew^els.  The  weight  of  a  diamond  is  as 
nothing  if  the  color  and  perfection  are  lacking;  the  num- 
ber of  jewels  in  a  watch  will  not  take  the  place  of  finish 
and  adjustment.  Argue  on  a  diamond's  value  because  of 
its  brilliancy  and  clearness  and  beauty ;  on  a  watch  move- 
ment's desirability  because  of  its  time-keeping  qualities. 

Never  let  a  customer  persuade  you  to  make  the  same 
statements  about  your  lower  priced  goods  that  you  do 
about  the  better  ones.  Give  all  comers  to  understand  that 
difference  in  price  means  a  corrcsj)onding  and  ofttinies  a 
greater  difference  in  value.  Talk  quality  and  let  the  price 
take  care  of  itself.  Never  be  afraid  that  you  are  wasting 
valuable  time  in  going  into  details  about  your  goods. 
Your  customer  will  have  more  respect  for  your  knowl- 
edge of  your  business  and  in  the  merits  of  your  goods,  if 
you  demonstrate  the  fact  that  in  addition  to  being  able  to 
mark  the  price  on  the  goods  you  know  something  about 
where  they  are  made,  how  they  are  made,  why  one  stone 
costs  more  than  another,  and  so  on.  The  mere  statement 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


that  an  emerald  costs  more  than  a  ruby,  a  ruby  more  than 
a  sapphire,  means  nothing  to  your  customer.  Give  rea- 
sons and  explanations  and  watch  your  sales  department. 
It  will  be  somewhat  surprising  if  you  do  not  increase  your 
sales  of  expensive  jewels  to  those  who  like  to  feel  that 
their  purchases  are  coming  from  one  who  is  expert  in  his 
line  and  honest  in  his  statements. 


362  EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


CHAPTER  XCIII. 


HOW  SUMMER  VACATIONS  HELP  OUR  BUSINESS. 

VacatMmists  Have  Money  to  Spmd— Need  Various  Acceno- 
ries  to  Make  Outing  Satisfactory— Many  of  These  in  Jew- 
eler's Stock— Should  be  Suggested  Through  Advertise- 
ments—Mention  Spec^  Articles  With  Description  and 
Price. 

THE  summer  vacation,  once  a  novelty  and  indulged 
in  by  but  few,  is  now  an  established  custom.  The 
people  who  do  not  indulge  themselves  thus  are 
very  much  in  the  minority.  Many  concerns  who  figure 
expenses  closely  insist  upon  their  salespeople  taking  an 
annual  vacation  at  the  expense  of  the  store,  realizing,  as 
they  do,  that  upon  their  return  from  a  pleasure  outing 
they  are  invigorated  and  inspired  to  do  more  work  and 
better  work. 

It  is  not  my  intention  to  argue  regarding  the  propriety 
or  advisability  of  taking  a  summer  vacation,  as  it  is  con- 
ceded that  the  only  ones  who  do  not  indulge  are  those 
who  are  financially  incapacitated,  and  these  cannot  be  of 
much  use  to  us  in  a  business  way.  It  is  the  people  who 
take  summer  vacations  who  have  the  money  to  spend,  and 
certainly  must  be  in  a  spending  mood.  Railroads  and  ho- 
tels are  very  careful  to  see  that  all  patrons  are  provided 
with  the  wherewithal  to  pay  for  the  conveniences  which 
they  furnish.  The  general  public  is  so  familiar  with  this 
fact  that  it  would  be  considered  worse  than  folly  to  at- 
tempt to  secure  a  ticket  from  a  railroad  company  unless 
one  had  the  equivalent  in  cash. 

People  who  are  planning  vacations  must  all  be  provided 
with  suitable  clothing  and  furnishings.  If  they  play  golf 
or  tennis,  they  must  have  a  suitable  outfit;  if  they  are  go- 
ing to  the  seashore  or  lake  resort,  they  must  have  a  bath- 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


3^3 


ing  suit ;  if  they  are  going  to  the  mountains  to  fish  they 
will  take  along  all  the  paraphernalia  necessary  to  a  thor- 
ough enjoyment  of  the  outing.  In  short,  to  sum  it  all  up, 
they  would  rather  stay  at  home  than  to  go  away  other 
than  first-class.  Jewelers  generally  are  prone  to  lay  back 
during  the  summer  time  and  let  the  dust  and  cobwebs  ac- 
cumulate, not  only  on  their  shelves  but  in  their  brains. 
If  nothing  else,  it  will  save  a  whole  lot  of  house  cleaning 
to  maintain  the  same  efficiency  during  the  summer  as  at 
any  other  time  of  the  year.  True,  it  is  a  hard  matter  to 
work  up  much  enthusiasm  if  business  is  slow  and  the 
home  team' is  playing  good  ball.  There  is  one  absolute 
truth,  however,  that  to  the  wide  awake  man,  the  hustling 
business  man,  the  sunmier  time  affords  an  opportuni^ 
for  him  to  get  one  or  two  strides  ahead  of  his  competi- 
tors, who,  rejoicing  in  the  fact  that  business  was  good  all 
the  spring  and  they  expect  it  will  be  this  fall,  figure  that 
there  is  no  use  working  too  hard  during  the  summer  time. 
The  real  time  to  work  is  while  the  other  fellow  is  stopped. 
Arotmd  Qiristmas  time  every  one  is  on  the  hustle  for  the 
almighty  dollar.  You  get  your  share,  your  competitor 
gets  his  share.  It  is  atoiost  an  impossibility  for  you  to 
get  even  a  hair's  breadth  ahead  of  him ;  he  will  hold  his 
own  trade,  and  perhaps  get  some  of  yours.  The  store 
which  can,  in  the  summer  months,  impress  upon  the  buy- 
ing public  that  it  is  on  the  job  the  year  round,  that  it  ex- 
pects to  do  business  every  day  in  the  year,  will  surely 
arouse  a  respect  among  its  friends  and  customers  for  its 
business-like  manner  and  get-up  such  as  will  influence 
immediate  sales,  as  well  as  leaving  a  favorable  impres- 
sion, whidi  will  result  in  other  sales  later.  The  jeweler 
who  allows  everything  to  become  soiled  and  dingy  during 
the  warm  weather,  promising  a  general  shaking  up  when 
the  business  opens  up  in  the  faU,  is  gradually  acquiring 
the  reputation  of  being  just  a  little  behind  the  times. 
.  There  is  one  fact  often  overlooked  by  storekeepers  gen- 
erally, and  that  is  that  more  people  look  in  the  windows 
in  the  summer  than  at  any  other  time  of  the  year.  They 
may  not  buy  anything  from  you  that  day  or  that  month, 


S64 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


but  they  have  their  eyes  open  and  to  have  them  speak  of 
your  stwc  as  having  a  nice  appearance  is  worth  consid- 
erable to  you. 

The  jeweler  has  in  his  stock  a  number  of  articles  which 
might  well  be  called  vacation  accessories.    There  are 
more  of  these  than  one  would  naturally  imagine.  Who 
is  there  who  has  not  heard  the  wish  expressed  at  a  sum- 
mer resort  for  a  field  glass?   How  many  times  do  you 
find  people  scribUing  a  letter  with  a  pencil,  when  a  foun- 
tain pen  would  do  the  work  much  easier  and  present  a 
much  better  appearance  to  the  recipient?    How  many 
times  a  collar  or  cuff  button  will  be  temporarily  or  per- 
manently lost,  necessitating  the  expenditure  of  much 
time,  patience  and  profanity,  while  regaining  it  ?  How 
many  times  one  regrets  that  he  did  not  buy  a  pocket 
drinking  cup,  when  he  stands  at  a  well  or  a  spring  where 
he  must  use  cither  a  rusty  tin  cup  or  his  hand  instead? 
Automobile  and  picnic  parties  often  have  use  for  fruit 
knives  for  the  proper  enjoyment  of  their  lunches.  Why 
didn't  you  make  them  think  about  it  before  they  started 
out?  Medium  priced  watches,  and  traveling  clocks  make 
traveling  more  pleasureable,  and  should  find  ready  sale. 
Manicure  articles  in  pocket  and  traveling  cases,  match 
safes  and  cigar  cutters  all  are  appropriate.   As  the  gen- 
tlemen need  extra  sets  of  collar  buttons,  so  the  lady  needs 
extra  brooches  and  cuff  pins.    In  fact,  if  one  were  to 
make  a  wmdow  display  containing  articles  appropriate 
for  vacation  days,  he  would  have  quite  a  line  of  goods 
represented.  Leather  jewel  cases  with  compartments  for 
the  different  articles,  mesh  bags,  bead  bags,  leather  bags, 
all  win  appeal  to  the  tourist  prospective. 

Don't  you  think  you  are  very  much  more  likely  to  make 
a  sale  of  this  kind  if  the  goods  are  right  out  in  plain  sight 
and  present  an  attractive  appearance,  than  as  if  they  are 
called  for  and  you  have  to  pull  them  forth  from  their 
hidmg  i^ace  covered  with  dust  or  steam,  which  some- 
tunes  accumulates  on  silver  or  steel  articles?  Your  ad- 
vcrtisiig  at  this  time  of  the  year  should  be  along  these 
Imes.  Do  not  expect  a  grand  rush  for  the  vacation  goods. 


ETANS'S  ESSAYS. 


365 


Realize  that  when  you  are  pushing  that  class  of  goods 
you  are  advertising  your  store  and  at  the  same  time  you 
are  offering  a  suggestion  to  people  that  they  can  just  as 
well  leave  some  of  their  money  with  you  as  to  spend  it  aU 
elsewhere.  The  jeweler  has  always  counted  on  holiday 
business  and  wedding  and  graduation  gifts.  To  these  he 
should  add  vacation  articles.  Your  advertising  should  be 
along  these  lines,  striving  to  create  a  desire  for  some  one 
specific  article.  Thus,  the  suggestion  "Take  a  Field 
Glass  With  You,"  and  explaining  just  what  one  will  gain 
by  it.  The  approximate  cost  of  a  good  glass,  its  lasting 
and  permanent  qualities,  all  should  be  mentioned.  A 
good  many  will  read  that  advertisement,  and  while  all 
will  not  immediately  grab  tjieir  hats  and  dash  out  of  the 
house  to  buy  one,  there  will  be  a  few  who  will  remember, 
that  last  year  there  were  several  times  when  a  field  glass 
would  have  greatly  enhanced  their  enjoyment  of  the  scen- 
ery, or  enabled  them  to  have  made  out  the  name  of  a  boat; 
some  distance  away  which  they  were  very  anxious  to  dis^ 
cover,  and  who  will  act  upon  the  suggestion. 

The  additional  suggestion  should  be  made  in  another 
advertisement  to  take  an  extra  set  of  collar  buttons  with 
you.  They  cost  only  a  little  and  are  very  convenient  to 
have  at  hand.  It  will  often  effect  a  sale  of  these  useful 
articles.  When  one  considers  the  natural  elusiveness  of 
a  collar  button  he  will  realize  that  he  is  running  just  a 
trifle  too  close  in  such  matters  by  having  just  the  exact 
number  which  he  must  use  in  his  shirt  in  order  to  wear 
it.  The  same  is  true  of  cuft  buttons,  of  the  ladies*  pin 
sets  and  of  many  other  little  items.  Give  the  advice  to 
"Write  Your  Postals  With  a  Fountain  Pen"  because 
friends  are  more  likely  to  get  them  and  they  will  enjoy 
receiving  them  so  much  more  because  they  can  read 
them,  which  is  not  always  possible  when  written  with  a 
pencil.  Always  mention  some  specific  article,  with  de- 
scription and  price  to  make  absolutely  certain  that  you 
are  making  an  impression  upon  the  mind  of  a  custcmier. 

The  printed  advice  to  buy  a  drinking  cup  or  a  camper's 
outfit  with  cases,  will  suggest  the  purchase  either  for  the 


366  EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


use  of  the  buyer  or  as  a  present  to  a  friend.  It  strikes  me 
that  we  are  all  weak  when  it  comes  to  the  matter  of  of- 
fering suggestions  to  customers.  There  is  a  whole  lot  of 
money  spent  during  July  and  August.  The  railroads  can 
tell  you  where  some  of  it  goes.  When  trains  are  run  in 
three  and  sometimes  four  sections  to  accommodate  traf- 
fic, there  is  money  in  circulation.  Always  bear  in  mind 
that  fact  when  a  customer  enters  your  store.  Try  to  sell 
him  as  good  an  article  of  the  kind  he  is  looking  for,  as  he 
will  buy  and  pay  for.  Bear  in  mind  that  while  there  are 
summer  resorts,  so-called,  with  imitation  hotels  which  of- 
fer great  inducements  to  the  summer  vacationist,  that  the 
hotels  charging  from  $25  to  $50  per  week  still  flourish. 
Never  make  the  mistake  of  putting  a  customer  in  the 
cheap  class.  If  he  puts  himself  there  try  and  argue  him 
out  of  it.  Always  talk  up  goods  and  trade  conditions. 
Be  a  booster.  Don't  cry  out  against  summer  vacations, 
because  if  you  do  you  stand  alone.  Join  in  the  general 
anthem,  but  in  the  pauses  get  in  a  word  for  yourself. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


367 


CHAPTER  XCIV. 


VIEWS  PROM  THE  CUSTOMEITS  STANDPOINT. 

Human  Nature  Alike  in  Buyer  and  Seller — Consider  the  Cus- 
tomer's Position  and  Give  Some  Real  Information  About 
Goods — Futility  of  Selling  Diamonds  by  Measure — Price 
Should  be  the  Final  Consideration. 

IT  is  natural  for  any  storekeeper,  whether  clothier,  hat- 
ter, furniture  dealer  or  jeweler,  to  acquire  the  habit 
of  looking  at  things  from  the  very  narrow  stand- 
point circumscribed  by  the  four  walls  of  his  own  place  of 
business.  He  expects  people  to  purchase  his  goods  be- 
cause "he  needs  the  money."  He  seemingly  forgets  his 
competitors  and  ^  his  customers.  They  also  ''need  the 
money,"  and  the  one  is  going  to  do  his  utmost  to  obtain 
his  share  while  the  other  is  striving  to  buy  as  much  as 
he  can  with  the  little  which  he  has  and  have  a  little  left 
over.  To  many  of  us  this  latter  desire  seems  almost 
beyond  realization,  for  as  a  man's  income  grows  his 
spending  power  likewise  increases.  Luxuries  of  five 
years  ago  are  necessities  to-day,  while  things  unheard  of 
in  ante-bellum  times  are  now  a  part  of  every  day  life  and 
we  could  not  live  without  them.  To  return  to  the  day  of 
the  tallow  candle  and  the  wood  stove  would  be  an  impos- 
sibility. We  are  all  growing  every  day  and  our  necessi- 
ties are  rapidly  increasing.  Jas.  J.  Hill  is  authority  for 
the  statement  that  it  is  not  the  high  cost  of  living  which 
is  causing  the  trouble  to-day  but  it  is  the  cost  of  high  liv- 
ing. However  that  may  be,  we  are  all  striving  to  obtain 
as  much  as  possible  of  what  the  world  has  to  offer  us  in 
return  for  our  money. 

Our  customers  are  very  like  ourselves.  Human  nature 
is  said  to  be  the  same  wherever  you  find  it.  We  none  of 
us  knowingly  pay  more  for  an  article  than  we  beheve  it 


368 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


to  be  worth.  While  we  do  not  expect  the  storekeeper  to 
sell  us  goods  at  cost,  still  we  do  not  care  how  Httle  he  adds 
on  to  that  cost  before  we  buy  it.  Figurod  in  dollars  and 
cents,  profits  often  seem  large,  but  it  is  tlic  percentage  on 
gross  business,  from  which  the  running  expenses  are  de- 
ducted, that  really  constitutes  the  profit.  Many  jewelers 
ando^s^e  able  to  figure  cost  of  doing  business  and 
ofiMplHiill  sell  goods  for  less  than  their  more  busi- 
ness-like competitor  without  intending  to  cut  the  price. 
To  the  purchaser,  however,  that  part  of  the  matter  does 
not  appeal.  Each  customer  believes  that  you  have  added 
a  fair  profit  to  your  goods  and  would  not  believe  you 
were  you  to  state  otherwise.  In  handling  customers  we 
must  always  lock  at  our  business  from  their  standpoint. 
Try  and  place  yourself  in  their  position  and  consider 
niatters  fairly  and  squarely.  Think  of  some  of  the  ques- 
tions which  you  would  like  to  ask  about  such  goods  were 
you  outside  of  the  counter.  Would  you  like  to  have  a 
lot  of  technical  information  loaded  on  you  about  which 
you  knew  absolutely  nothing?  Would  it  do  anything 
other  than  to  confuse  your  mmd  regarding  the  goods. 
Would  it  not  SLpptdl  to  you  more  if  the  storekeeper  were 
to  ask  you  a  few  questicMis  regarding  the  use  for  which 
the  artide  is  intended  and  then  to  ask  the  privilege  of  as- 
sisting you  to  making  a  selection  through  the  technical 
education  he  might  possess  regarding  the  article  in  mind  ? 
Take,  for  instance,  the  purchase  of  a  watch.  Most  cus- 
tomers know  nothing  about  a  watch  except  the  names  of 
a  few  leading  makes  and  the  number  of  jewels  which  a 
watdi  may  contain.  Thus  wc  hear  handed  to  the  cus- 
tomer such  statements  as  2S-year  gold  filled  case,  15  jew- 
eled movement,  and  the  price.  Jewelers  should  be  able 
to  tell  a  little  more  about  watches  than  such  bare  facts. 
Any  customer  who  goes  away  with  a  watch  under  such 
circunistances  has  bou^^t  it.   No  one  sold  it. 

If  diamonds  are  to  be  sdd  by  the  measure,  as  it  were, 
mhtn  we  say  so  much  "per  karat"  does  that  not  operate 
greatly  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  dealer  in  gems  and 
precious  stones?   Karat  means  absdutely  nothing,  ex- 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


369 


cept  to  the  jeweler  in  buying  his  stock.  One  diamond 
may  be  worth  four  hundred  dollars  per  karat  and  another 
would  be  dear  at  fifty.  The  writer  was  shown  a  six- 
karat  stone  once  that  could  be  purchased  for  eighteen 
dollars  per  karat.  Readers  can  imagine  what  it  was.  We 
should  sell  diamonds  as  they  are,  as  gems  of  the  first 
water.  The  beauties  of  a  stone,  its  cutting,  its  color,  its 
proportions  and  its  brilliancy  should  be  pointed  out.  Cus- 
tomers rarely  buy  a  diamond  with  the  idea  of  realizing 
upon  it  at  some  pawnbroker's,  if  in  destitute  condition. 
They  are  buying  it  as  a  gift  usually  for  some  loved  one 
and  will  buy  the  best  which  they  can  aft'ord  if  given  the 
opportunity.  If,  however,  they  are  given  to  understand 
that  the  weight  only  is  the  governing  standpoint  of  qual- 
ity, then  indeed  they  would  be  foolish  if  they  did  not  buy 
as  heavy  a  stone  as  their  money  would  purchase,  even  if 
it  was  not  as  brilliant  or  handsome  as  another  stone,  less 
in  weight,  but  of  better  color  and  better  cut.  Custom- 
ers want  to  know  these  things.  You  require  more  expla- 
nations from  your  diamond  house  and  you  are  supposed 
to  have  a  knowledge  of  the  business.  Would  you  buy  a 
paper  of  stones  by  weight  without  knowing  something 
about  them  ?  Then  do  not  expect  to  make  many  diamond 
sales  by  weight  and  price  alone.  The  man  who  sells  the 
most  diamonds  is  the  man  who  has  impressed  upon  his 
clientele  the  fact  that  in  addition  to  honesty  and  truthful- 
ness he  possesses  a  knowledge  of  the  goods  which  he  sells. 

Many  writers  advocate  the  policy  of  telling  the  cus- 
tomer as  little  as  possible  about  the  goods ;  that  outsiders 
know  too  much  about  our  business  anyway.  My  idea  is 
to  tell  your  customer  enough  so  that  he  will  realize  that 
there  is  considerable  to  learn  about  a  business  such  as 
ours,  and  that  it  is  worth  a  dollar  or  two  to  trade  with  a 
man  who  knows  his  business  thoroughly. 

If  we  were  to  enter  a  tailoring  establishment  we  would 
rather  hear  the  salesmen  tell  something  about  the  cloth 
he  is  showing  us,  about  the  maker  and  his  standard  of 
quality,  than  for  him  to  dwell  on  price,  price,  price.  Price 
should  be  the  final  consideration.    Real  genuine  sales- 


370 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


manship  consists  in  selling  the  article  before  naming  the 
price.  Unless  it  is  absolutely  prohibitive  the  price  of  an 
article  does  not  have  anything  to  do  with  the  sale,  ex- 
cept that  it  is  the  part  which  the  salesman  is  particularly 
interested  in. 

Take  a  half-hour  sometime  and  jot  down  a  few  things 
which  you  think  the  customer  would  like  to  know  about 
your  goods,  going  from  one  class  of  goods  to  another; 
write  out  little  descriptions  of  these  goods  and  memorize 
them.  The  same  talk  which  will  sell  an  article  to  one  cus- 
tomer will  generally  work  with  another.  Of  course,  in- 
terruptions will  ensue,  but  after  an  answer  is  made  the 
next  statement  in  our  logical  selling  talk  can  be  taken  up. 

Looking  in  other  store  windows  we  can  see  things 
which  we  think  could  be  improved.  Try  and  cultivate  the 
same  habit  regarding  your  own  store,  its  methods,  its  ad- 
vertising and  its  show  windows.  Continually  study  your 
business;  learn  from  your  competitors;  learn  from  your 
trade  papers;  learn  from  visiting  salesmen,  and,  finally, 
learn  from  your  customers. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS.  37^ 


CHAPTER  XCV. 


THE  TIME  TO  STOP  TALKING. 

Always  Reserve  Some  Argument  to  Call  Into  Play  if  Neces- 
sary— Allow  the  Customer  Time  to  Digest  Suggestions 
and  to  Form  Personal  Opinions — Avoid  Confusion  of 
Arguments — Invite  Confidence  and  then  Deserve  It. 

SOLOMON,  wisest  of  all  men,  is  authority  for  the 
ststement  that  there  is  a  time  for  everything,  and 

no  man  has  as  yet  contradicted  that  statement. 
Other  and  later  writers  have  given  advice  in  this  wise^ 
**speech  is  silver ;  silence  is  golden."  We  have  all  met 
people  who  through  their  dignified  silence  when  a  discus- 
sion was  on,  would  impress  one  with  the  fact  that  they 
were  perfectly  familiar  with  the  subject  under  discussion, 
and  were  enjoying  listening  to  the  shallow  statements  of 
those  less  well  informed  than  they  were.  We  have  all 
seen  these  same  people  forced  to  speak  on  a  subject,  and 
have  discovered  that  their  reason  for  previous  silence  wa> 
because  of  the  fact  that  they  did  not  have  anything  to  of- 
fer on  the  matter  under  discussion. 

The  purpose  of  this  article,  however,  is  not  to  advance 
the  argument  that  the  time  to  stop  talking  is  when  yoa 
have  nothing  else  to  say.  We  should  always  have  some 
reserve  matter  which  can  be  called  into  play  if  necessary. 
Let  us,  for  example,  consider  the  handling  of  a  customer 
for  a  watch.  We  would  naturally  try  and  find  out 
whether  he  has  a  preference  for  an  open  face  or  huntings 
case  watch,  and  would  show  him  cases  of  dififerent  de- 
signs, emphasizing  the  fact  that  every  watch  we  sold  was 
guaranteed  to  give  satisfaction  to  the  wearer  and  that  no 
matter  who  made  the  watch  he  must  look  to  us  to  have 
any  defects  made  good.  In  this  way,  for  the  time  beings 
his  mind  is  taken  away  from  the  movement,  he  allows  his 


372 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS, 


eye  to  glance  over  the  designs  of  cases  submitted  to  him 
and  will  very  soon  give  evidence  of  the  style  of  case 
which  he  prefers.  A  wise  jeweler  will  not  talk  all  of  the 
time  while  the  customer  is  looking  at  the  cases,  but  will 
give  him  a  chance  to  look  over  the  goods,  without  any 
outside  interruption.  As  long  as  he  continues  to  look  he 
is  interested  and  does  not  need  any  great  help  from  you. 
When  he  indicates  what  case  lie  prefers  tell  him  the  kind 
"O^  ^^^^^nt  in  the  watch ;  also  what  other  grades  of 
^^^^'^■HBiN"^^  will  cost  in  such  a  case,  explaining  why 
one  nSHsnt  costs  more  and  is  worth  more  than  an- 
other. The  individuality  of  a  watch  should  be  spoken 
of  and  it  should  be  definitely  imi)ressed  upon  the  cus- 
tomer that  the  very  best  watch  he  can  afford  to  buy  is  the 
one  he  ought  to  buy.  Too  often  we  hear  jewelers'  saying 
that  a  gold  filled  case  will  be  a  better  purchase  than  an 
all  gold  one,  that  twenty-five  dollars  will  buy  as  good  a 
watch  as  a  man  need  carry,  and  so  on.  Jewelers  should 
try  and  educate  their  customers  up  to  the  highest  priced 
watches,  giving  the  reasons  why  they  are  made,  also  the 
satisfaction  there  is  in  owning  a  first-class  timepiece  en- 
cased in  a  14k.  gold  case,  and  the  fact  that  the  purchase 
when  made  is  for  a  lifetime  of  service. 

After  the  jeweler  has  given  descriptions  of  the  move- 
ments, he  should  take  another  rest  while  the  customer 
considers  the  proposition.  Perhaps  he  may  wish  to  ask 
you  a  question  or  two,  which  if  properly  answered,  will 
enable  you  to  sell  another  and  better  watch.  The  writer 
lias  seen  heavy  gold  cases  fitted  with  seven  jeweled  move- 
tnents  which  the  purchaser  thought  was  the  best  money 
could  buy  simply  because  the  case  was  a  good  one.  Either 
the  jeweler  had  not  been  alive  to  his  opportunity,  or  else 
be  had  put  in  that  movement  to  make  the  price  seem  low. 
When  a  man  will  pay  fifty  to  sixty  dollars  for  a  gold  case 
with  a  seven-jeweled  movement  he  will  pay  seventy-five 
to  a  hundred  dollars  for  the  same  case  with  a  better  move- 
■ment.  If,  however,  the  jeweler  talks  incessantly  regard- 
ing the  advantages  of  a  certain  timepiece  and  does  not 
give  the  customer  a  chance  to  ask  the  question  whether 


EVANS'S  ESS  A  VS. 


373 


that  is  the  highest  grade  watch  which  he  can  buy,  he  cer- 
tainly will  never  sell  anything  but  low-priced  watches. 
Give  your  customer  something  to  think  about  and  then 
give  him  a  chance  to  think  it  over  before  you  load  on  any 
more.  Perhaps  your  best  argument  will  be  covered  up 
and  lost  sight  of  by  some  passing  remark  which  really  has 
no  bearing  on  the  matter.  Some  men  sell  goods  because 
they  keep  up  a  continual  talk,  while  others  sell  goods  and 
scarcely  say  anything  about  them.  This  merely  illus- 
trates that  the  man  who  combines  both  faculties  will  sell 
more  and  better  grades  of  goods  than  either  of  his  com- 
petitors who  follow  one  of  the  other  plans. 

The  writer  has  seen  people  talked  to  by  salesmen  whc 
would  pile  argument  after  argument  upon  them,  until 
they  became  so  confused  that  they  would  be  obliged  to 
get  into  the  open  air  and  think  the  matter  over.  In  sell- 
ing goods  it  is  sufficient  to  display  them;  impress  upon 
your  customer  that  you  have  confidence  in  the  manufac- 
turer of  the  articles  in  question  and  that  he  must  have  the 
same  confidence  in  you ;  that  naturally,  the  higher  priced 
articles  are  the  best  for  him  to  buy,  but  that  nevertheless, 
he  can  safely  buy  anything  shown  him  with  the  thorough 
understanding  that  it  represents  full  value  for  the  money 
invested ;  that  he  must  not  expect  a  two  dollar  article  to 
represent  the  same  style,  finish  and  durability  as  a  ten 
dollar  article  in  the  same  line.  Explain  differences  care- 
fully, do  not  expect  customers  to  decide  too  quickly ;  ad- 
vise the  purchase  of  the  medium  and  highest  quality 
goods ;  discouraging  the  purchase  of  low  grade  or  light 
weight  goods,  and  your  sales  of  better  goods  will  rapidly 
increase.  Explain  in  showing  some  of  the  cheaper  goods 
that  you  do  not  recommend  them  though  you  have  calls 
for  them ;  that  your  margin  of  profit  is  just  as  large  as 
upon  the  better  goods ;  that  you  are  looking  for  to-mor- 
row's business  as  well  as  to-day's;  in  short,  that  a  cus- 
tomer's interests  are  your  interests,  and  that  you  are  pro- 
rnoting  your  own  welfare  when  you  urge  them  to  select 
high  class  merchandise. 

In  selling  cut  glass,  it  is  often  well  to  illustrate  to  cus- 
tomers just  how  little  they  know  about  such  matters. 


374  EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


Many  people  judge  by  the  weight,  and  think  if  the  piece 
is  unusually  heavy  it  must  c<Misequently  be  of  exceptional 
quality.  Show  two  bowls  similar  in  design  but  with  a 
different  amount  of  cutting  upon  them ;  ask  the  customer 
which  is  the  better  quality  of  glass.  If  she  picks  out  the 
right  one,  compliment  her  upon  her  judgment  and  show 
her  the  difference  in  price  between  the  two  pieces.  If, 
whidi  is  just  as  likely  to  happen,  she  picks  out  the  Infe- 
rior piece  as  in  her  judgment  the  best,  explain  to  her  how 
easy  it  is  to  be  mistaken  and  why  such  purchases  must 
ccMne  fnMn  a  reliable  store.  After  making  a  point  of  this 
kind  give  the  customer  time  to  digest  the  fact.  When 
you  get  people  to  rdy  upon  your  judgment  and  honesty  ' 
your  sales  will  come  easier.  The  jewelry  business  is  built 
upon  reliability.  Cut  rate  stores  may  come  and  go,  but 
the  stores  having  a  repoitation  for  selling  honest  made 
goods  at  reasonable  prices  continue  to  thrive  and  in- 
crease. 

In  suggesting  that  there  is  a  time  to  maintain  silence 
do  not  think  for  a  moment  that  one  of  those  awkward 
pauses,  when  both  salesman  and  customer  almost  fall 
asleep,  is  intended.  The  salesman  should  be  readv  with 
a  remark  now  and  then,  particularly  r^arding  the  ap- 
parent choice  of  the  customer,  bnt  do  not  pile  up  unnec- 
essary arguments  which  confuse  and  annoy. 

Explanations  should  be  clear  and  complete,  and  should 
not  be  continually  repeated  unless  tfie  customer  seems  de- 
sirous of  hearing  some  of  these  more  important  points 
gone  over.  If  possible  gain  the  customer's  confidence  to 
the  extent  that  he  will  tell  you  about  how  much  he  can 
afford  to  put  into  the  article  and  then  advise  him  which 
of  those  shown  will  best  suit  his  needs. 

Solomon  was  the  wisest  of  all  men,  and  the  builder  of 
the  greatest  building  of  ancient  times,  and  when  he  said, 
''there  is  a  time  for  everything,"  he  spoke  from  the  wis- 
dom which  his  years  had  taught  him.  Let  us,  therefore, 
remember  that  our  customer  as  a  rule  does  not  care  about 
all  the  details,  but  will  leave  that  to  us.  He  believes  that 
we  have  investigated  all  the  reasons  why  the  article  in 
question  is  the  best  for  him  to  buy,  and  he  would  rather 
have  our  "say-so"  than  to  have  to  listen  to  all  the  reasons. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


375 


CHAPTER  XC\T. 


HANDLING  A  GROUP  OF  CUSTOMERS. 

Cliirificatkm  of  Individuals  Composing  Groups  Usually 

ThffM  Quaiten  of  the  Number  to  be  Won  Over— Dealing 
With  CommlttM— Need  of  Enlisting  the  "Authority"  on 
Goods  and  Prices*  and  How  to  Do  It— Advise  Carefully 
and  with  Judgment— Satisfied  Committees  Good  Advcr- 

THERE  are  all  sorts  of  customers,  from  the  one  who 
always  comes  to  you  for  his  jewelry  needs,  se- 
lects from  the  assortment  you  show  him,  pays 
your  price  without  question,  and  who  would  not  feel  as 
though  everything  was  just  as  it  should  be  if  it  were 
otherwise,  down  through  the  varying  stages  until  we 
reach  that  class  who  make  us  wonder  what  reason  im- 
pelled them  to  enter  a  store  to  look  at  goods,  the  propri- 
etor or  manager  of  which  they  seem  to  believe  is  a  crook 
of  some  kind. 

We  all  have  customers  whom  it  is  a  pleasure  to  wait 
upon,  who  are  always  pleased  with  the  goods  you  show 
them,  with  the  work  you  do  for  them,  and  who  often  go 
out  of  their  way  to  send  you  trade.  Then  we  have  just 
enough  disagreeable  ones  to  make  us  realize  that  the  ma- 
jority of  people  with  whom  we  come  in  contact  are  rea- 
sonable. When  a  group  of  customers  enters  your  store 
to  look  at  goods  they  invariably  mean  business.  They 
are  not  just  lookers  with  no  immediate  purchase  in  view, 
but  are  in  the  market  for  immediate  acceptance. 

In  such  a  group  we  will  find  first  of  all,  the  believer  in 
your  honesty  and  integrity ;  second,  the  one  who  is  per- 
haps regularly  a  customer  elsewhere,  but  who  recognizes 
your  reliability  and  is  <^n  to  persuasion;  third,  the  one 
who  is  prejudiced  in  favor  of  some  other  store  and  who 


♦ 

376  EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


will  do  all  in  his  power  to  take  the  sale  from  you;  fourth^ 
the  blulYer,  or  the  one  who  always  gets  a  special  price  on 
anything  he  buys,  no  matter  where.  Perhaps  all  groups 
are  not  so  classified,  but  in  my  experience,  it  has  seemed 
to  me  that  in  each  group  of  four  there  are  three  to  be  won 
over  to  the  sale  with  the  assistance  of  the  one  who 
brought  them  to  your  store.  If  his  is  a  forceful  character 
the  matter  is  simple.  Very  often,  however,  he  is  more 
easily  influenced  by  his  companions  than  they  are  by  him 
and  as  it  is  nothing  in  his  pocket  to  land  the  sale  for  you 
is  perhaps  more  ready  to  fall  in  line  with  them  tlian  to 
make  a  fight  for  you. 

We  will  say,  for  instance,  that  a  foreman  of  a  machine 
shop,  or  the  boss  of  a  weaving  room,  is  about  to  leave  for 
some  other  position.  What  more  natural  if  he  has  been 
fair  with  those  under  him,  that  they  should  pass  around 
a  subscription  list  and  raise  money  to  make  him  some 
gift,  as  a  testimonial  of  their  appreciation  of  the  past 
kindnesses  and  of  their  best  wishes  for  his  future?  Af- 
ter the  money  has  been  raised  of  course  a  committee  must 
be  2^>pointed  to  attend  to  the  purchasing  part  of  the  trans- 
action. Saturday  afternoon  finds  this  committee  starting 
out  on  its  mission.  Each  has  an  idea  of  just  what  the 
prospective  recipient  most  needs  and  will  best  appreciate. 
One  will  want  to  buy  him  a  chair  of  some  kind,  another 
a  dining-roc«n  set,  another  a  set  of  dishes,  and  so  on. 
But  generally  articles  sold  by  the  jeweler  lind  more  favor 
because  of  their  beauty  and  durability. 

After  the  committee  has  talked  the  matter  over,  finally 
deciding  upon  jewelry  as  the  proper  goods  to  buy,  then 
the  decision  of  where  to  buy  becomes  the  all-absorbing 
topic.  It  is  seldom  that  all  the  committee  are  customers 
of  the  same  store,  and  if  not  the  natural  disposition  of 
mm  to  argue  arises.  Finally,  they  will  set  forth,  per- 
haps gdng  to  the  nearest  jeweler's  to  see  what  he  has  to 
sell  that  will  be  appropriate  and  which  they  can  buy  with 
the  money  they  have  raised. 

The  question  then  is  up  to  the  jeweler.  Here  is  a  com- 
mittee commissioned  to  spend  so  much  money,  and  with 
the  cash  in  their  pockets  to  complete  the  transaction. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS.  377 


How  is  the  jeweler  to  handle  those  four  men  and  make 
the  sale?  To  whom  is  he  to  do  his  talking?  What  lines 
of  talk  must  he  pursue?  There  is  always  one  man  in  the 
group  who  does  not  need  any  persuasion  for  he  brought 
the  others.  However,  he  must  not  be  overlooked  in  the 
conversation,  otherwise  his  antagonism  may  be  aroused, 
and  then  you  are  lost.  My  idea  of  handling  four  custom- 
ers is  to  talk  to  them  just  the  same  as  thot^h  but  one  was 
present  addressing  the  remarks  to  the  group,  explaining 
the  various  good  points  of  the  article,  laying  stress  upon 
its  desirability  and  durability.  The  committee  want  both 
of  these  qualities  because  they  wish  to  give  the  retiring 
boss  something  which  is  desirable,  and  they  also  want  to 
have  its  qualities  lasting.  Thus  you  will  find  that  gold 
chains  and  charms,  a  watch,  or  a  diamond  ring,  or  a  pair 
of  gold  cuflf  buttons  with  a  scarf  pin  will  most  naturally 
appeal  to  them.  Watches,  chains  and  lockets,  affording 
as  they  do  a  place  for  engraving,  usually  arc  more  invit- 
mg  than  anything  else.  The  purchasers  generally  want 
a  lot  of  engraving  so  that  the  recipient  may  always  re- 
member whence  came  the  articles  and  the  circumstances 
of  their  giving. 

In  talking  to  the  intending  purdiasers,  there  will  gen- 
erally be  objections  coming  from  scwne  of  the  committee 
to  the  eflfect  that  they  "do  not  think  he  wotdd  care  for 
that,"  etc.  In  answering  these  objections  talk  to  the  en- 
tire group  instead  of  directly  to  the  objectw.  It  answers 
his  objection  just  as  well  and  does  not  slight  the  others. 
On  every  committee  will  be  found  one  who  considers 
hmiself  an  authority  on  qualities  and  prices.  He  must  be 
enrolled  on  our  side  or  the  sale  cannot  be  made.  He  is 
a  natural  "bluffer,"  and  has  talked  the  matter  to  his  com- 
rades in  such  a  way  that  they  really  believe  he  is  what  he 
dauns  to  be.  To  such  an  one  talk  in  this  manner :  "I 
am  glad  that  you  seem  to  be  so  well  posted  on  goods  of 
this  character.  We  feel  assured  of  the  sale  when  an  in- 
telligent man  who  is  familiar  with  such  goods  examines 
them  ckMdy,  because  he  will  notice  the  exceptionally 
good  construction,  the  beautiful  workmanship,  and  the 


378  EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


splendid  finish."  If  you  talk  in  that  manner  it  becomes 
quite  difficult  for  him  to  antagonize  you.  He  will  dislike 
to  do  so  after  you  have  complimented  him  on  his  good 
taste  and  excellent  judgment.  If  you  row  with  the  tide 
rather  than  against  it  your  chances  are  much  greater  of 
making  the  sale.  If,  however,  the  committee  seems  dis- 
posed to  rely  on  your  judgment  rather  than  their  own, 
advise  them  carefully  because  other  sales  will  follow  this 
one.  If  they  lean  toward  something  which  you  do  not 
believe  will  give  them  as  good  satisfaction,  explain  why 
another  which  you  would  rather  sell  is  better  for  them  to 
buy.  "There's  a  reason"  for  everything,  and  people  are 
better  satisfied  to  be  told  what  it  is. 

Be  sure  to  thank  each  man  for  the  sale  when  made, 
and  if  you  keep  such  a  thing  as  a  box  of  cigars  around 
pass  them  to  the  committee.  There  is  nothing  that  sends 
a  crowd  away  better  satisfied  than  a  word  of  thanks,  a 
handshake  and  a  good  cigar. 

To  sum  it  up,  do  not  get  excited  or  frustrated  when  a 
crowd  enters  the  store  to  buy.  Of  course  it  is  harder 
than  talking  to  one  man,  but  remember  that  this  bunch 
has  the  money  with  them  to  pay  for  what  they  get,  that 
they  are  there  to  buy,  and  furthermore  that  you  are  there 
to  sell.  Do  not  try  to  make  a  speech  to  the  crowd  but 
talk  just  exactly  as  you  would  to  the  solitary  customer 
answering  objections  or  questions  as  made.  If,  however, 
you  are  generous  in  your  explanations,  giving  good  de- 
scriptions and  so  on,  the  questions  and  objections  will  be 
lew  indeed. 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS, 


379 


CHAPTER  XCVII. 


LIVING  AND  LEARNING. 

Profiting  by  Experience— Observation  of  Competitive  Meth- 
ods May  Teach  Valuable  Lessons  —  What  May  Be 
Learned  From  Customers— Different  Ways  of  Handling 
Trade— How  Patience  May  Make  the  Fussy  Customer 
Into  the  Satisfied  Kind. 

HOW  often  we  read  the  printed  words,  ''Established 
1830,"  or  other  similar  words  implying  that  the 
store  in  question  can  boast  of  having  been  in  ex- 
istence an  unusual  number  of  years.  But  what  do  such 
phrases  signify?  Do  they  signify  that  the  store  is  still 
conducted  on  the  sanie  principles,  with  the  same  policy, 
with  precisely  the  same  service,  and  in  exactly  the  same 
old  way  as  in  the  year  of  its  establishment?  Or  does  it 
mean  that  from  the  experience  which  this  store  has  ac- 
quired in  its  years  of  business  it  has  been  able  to  con- 
struct systems  of  buying  and  selling  and  handling  trade 
superior  to  those  in  use  in  other  stores  of  more  recent 
establishment? 

It  is  so  easy  to  get  into  a  rut  in  anything.  We  find  our 
position  in  life,  and  stay  there.  We  do  certain  things  at 
certain  times  and  are  content  to  have  the  same  routine 
go  on  year  in  and  year  out.  If  we  do  not  reach  out  af- 
ter improvements  and  strive  to  better  our  conditions  is 
the  fact  that  we  have  been  in  business  these  many  years 
of  any  particular  value  in  attracting  trade.  Well,  hardly. 
Most  jewelers  desire  to  sell  better  goods  and  more  of 
them,  to  have  a  better  trade  both  in  quality  and  quantity, 
and  all  such  notions  are  commendable.  But  how  are  we 
going  to  set  about  it?  The  other  jeweler  seems  to  be  just 
as  desirous  of  getting  business  as  we  are.  He  trims  his 
windows,  if  anything,  even  better  than  we  do.  He  seems 


38o 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


to  buy  a  class  of  goods  which  we  admire,  but  of  which  we 
are  afraid  to  stock  because  we  do  not  think  they  are  sal- 
able. We  find  that  he  is  accommodating,  tries  to  get 
work  out  at  the  time  specified,  and  even  delivers  it  to  the 
houses  of  his  customers.  Truly,  one  has  to  hustle  to  beat 
out  such  competition  as  this.  It  is  even  worse  than  the 
competition  of  the  price  cutter,  who  has  nothing  else  to 
recc»mnend  him.  But,  if  our  competitors  are  all  hustlers^ 
they  have  an  exhilirating  effect  upon  us.  They  make  us 
alive  and  keep  us  alive.  They  make  us  take  trips  to  mar- 
ket, they  make  us  study  our  trade  paper,  they  make  us 
observing  of  what  others  .are  doing  to  encourage  trade. 
Taken  all  in  all,  a  good,  live,  fair  competitor  is  the  best 
|)ossible  asset  which  you  can  have  in  your  business.  You 
can  learn  many  important  lessons  from  him  which  are 
valuable  from  an  educational  as  well  as  a  mercantile 
standpoint. 

But  the  lessons  which  we  must  learn  most  carefully  are 
those  taught  us  by  our  customers.  We  make  our  living 
from  our  customers.  Without  trade  we  could  not  exist. 
If  our  trade  is  continually  increasing  without  effort  on 
our  part  it  is  due  to  the  fact  that  we  are  unconsciously 
following  out  the  proper  course  of  treatment  of  each  cus- 
tomer. 

We  should  give  our  customers  the  best  possible  service 
of  which  we  are  capable,  but  we  should  also  see  that  they 
pay  for  it.  If  one  will  but  notice  he  will  observe  that 
goods  prettily  displayed  sell  faster  than  those  thrown 
carelessly  into  trays  without  regard  to  arrangement.  We 
will  notice  also  that  our  customers  will  be  very  greatly 
pleased  to  find  that  their  purchase  is  to  be  cased  suitably 
before  delivery.  The  small  expense  of  such  articles  can 
be  charged  into  the  selling  price  of  the  jewel  without  ma- 
terially affecting  the  cost  to  thi  customer. 

But  beyond  what  we  learn  r^rding  the  buying,  dis- 
{ilaying  and  disposing  of  our  wares,  is  the  fact  of  what 
we  must  learn  from  customers  relating  to  means  and 
methods  to  be  employed  to  obtain  and  hold  their  trade. 
We  often  have  exasperating  customers  whom  perhaps  we 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS.  sHi 


wish  would  not  come  to  our  stores;  but  if  you  can  once 
gain  the  confidence  of  such  a  customer  you  have  ac- 
quired a  valuable  assistant  to  your  business.  People  who 
are  so  constituted  that  they  jar  everyone  with  whom  they 
come  in  contact,  have  been  used  coldly  in  many  stores 
and  made  to  feel  that  they  were  not  welcome.  What 
does  it  mean  to  them,  then,  to  find  a  store  where  the 
salcMiian  acts  as  though  his  only  purpose  in  hfe  was  to 
show  tliem  goods,  quote  them  prices  and  explain  about 
the  merits  and  qualities  of  the  various  articles  on  display. 
They  feel  that  here  is  a  man  they  would  like  to  trade 
with,  and  as  such  people  have  acquaintances  whose  trade 
is  valuable,  if  they  feel  like  using  their  influence  to  per- 
suade them  to  come  to  your  store,  they  open  up  a  wide 
field  of  possibilities.  The  writer  had  an  instance  recently 
which  illustrates  the  fact  that  each  customer  must  be  sat- 
isfied, no  matter  at  what  cost.  A  lady  entered  our  store 
for  the  first  time,  having  been  recommended  to  do  so  by 
friends.  She  was  whimsical  in  her  likes  and  dislikes,  her 
questions  were  confusing,  and  all  in  all  she  seemed  to  be 
a  very  undesirable  customer.  The  writer  happened  to  be 
the  one  who  waited  upon  her.  She  was  looking  for  a 
watch  for  herself  and  did  not  wish  to  pay  more  than  was 
necessary  for  it.  Finally,  she  left  our  store  with  a  15- 
jeweled  movement  in  a  gold  filled  case,  '*on  trial a  few 
days  later  she  returned  complainingly.  The  watch  did 
not  suit  her;  it  ran  slow,  it  ran  fast,  it  stopped,  and  so 
on.  She  was  allowed  to  take  another  from  stock  and 
three  others  were  placed  in  the  watchmaker's  hands  to 
run  especially,  with  the  understanding  that  if  the  second 
watch  was  not  all  right  she  could  still  try  another  one. 
She  returned.  From  her  actions  it  was  evident  that  she 
intended  to  try  every  watch  of  the  kind  we  had  in  the 
store  and  then  make  her  selection.  We  told  her  that  we 
would  allow  her  to  carry  one  of  the  three,  which  had  been 
specially  regulated,  and  that  the  watch  would  be  regu- 
lated to  her  carrying.  She  spoke  then  as  though  she  was 
of  the  opinion  that  the  watches  were  undesirable  and  that 
she  thought  she  would  not  purchase.    We  assured  her 


382 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


that  it  was  merely  a  question  of  regulation,  but  that  we 
would  release  her  of  her  promise  to  buy  if  she  would  just 
accommodate  us  to  the  extent  of  allowing  us  to  prove  to 
.her  that  the  watch  could  be  regulated  to  run  in  the  man- 
ner in  which  we  stated  that  it  would.  She  agreed  to  this, 
and  after  a  couple  of  weeks  told  us  that  she  was  satisfied 
to  keep  the  watch  and  pay  for  it.  About  two  weeks  later 
she  entered  the  store  and  asked  the  writer  if  he  remem- 
bered a  solid  gold  watch  with  a  fine  imported  movement, 
nine  ligne  size,  which  she  had  been  shown  when  she  first 
called  at  the  store.  On  being  shown  the  same  watch 
again  she  stated  that  she  desired  it  for  her  niece,  picked 
out  a  gold  pin  to  go  with  it,  paid  for  it  and  was  out  of 
the  store  inside  of  five  minutes.  Since  that  time  she  has 
bought  other  goods  here  and  appears  to  consider  that  we 
are  her  jewelers.  This  is  merely  intended  to  illustrate 
the  importance  of  treating  each  customer  as  though  they 
were  your  only  customer  and  that  your  success  in  busi- 
ness depended  upon  your  satisfying  them. 

Learning  how  to  conduct  a  business  may  seem  like 
smaU  woit  to  some  readers,  but  if  one  were  to  take  a 
trip  about  the  country  and  observe  the  methods  of  han- 
dling trade  in  different  stores,  he  would  appreciate  why 
some  stores  arc  continually  doing  more  business  and  why 
others  gradually  do  less  and  less  until  they  drift  down 
and  out. 

If  you  arc  busily  engaged  in  bench  work  or  in  letter 
writing  when  a  customer  enters  do  not  give  them  a  glance 
and  a  nod  and  return  to  your  work.  Be  ready  so  that 
whenever  anyone  enters  you  can  step  forward  to  meet 
them.  Do  not  let  a  customer  have  to  stand  in  front  of 
the  counter  a  couple  of  minutes  before  anyone  moves 
from  their  position.  Sudi  methods  will  be  likely  to  en- 
courage the  belief  that  the  visit  of  a  customer  to  your 
store  is  entirely  unexpected  and  that  you  are  not  pre- 
pared to  wekome  them.  If  you  are  the  only  jeweler  in 
your  town  perhaps  your  customers  will  bear  with  you  be- 
cause they  do  not  know  otherwise,  tmt  if  you  have  a  com- 
petitor who  is  modem  in  his  methods,  you  cannot  but  lose 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


383 


dollars  to  him  in  the  course  of  the  year  because  you  have 
not  yet  learned  how  to  wait  on  customers. 

Customers  will  often  ask  for  goods  which  are  perhaps 
out  of  date.  To  tell  them  so  abruptly  will  offend  and 
make  a  sale  impossible.  To  tell  them  that  your  sales  of 
these  goods  have  drq[>ped  off  because  of  something  else 
coming  into  style  and  then  show  the  new  goods,  may  per- 
haps switch  tibem  from  the  old  to  the  new  and  you  will 
nudce  the  sale.  Live  and  learn.  Do  not  ever  count  as 
wasted  iint  time  spent  in  waiting  on  customers,  whether 
they  buy  or  not.  Charge  all  ^ch  time  to  advertising. 
Be  cheerful,  hc^ful,  and  willing,  and  in  the  end  you  will 
win  if  you  faint  not. 


384 


EFAXS'S  ESSAYS, 


CHAPTER  XCVIII. 


TAKING  CHANCES  TO  SELL  MORE  GOODS. 

!•  (m  a  IMfferent  Plane  from  Gambling— Succtia  is  not 
Achieved  Without  RIak— Buy  Novdtiaa  While  New  or 
Let  Them  Alone— Be  Awake  to  OpiNMrtnnitiei--Attractlve 
Goods  Have  An  Advertisfaig  Value— Take  a  Chance  and 
Show  New  Goods  to  tiie  Casual  Customer. 

THERE  are  many  good  people  to  whom  the  idea  of 
"taking  chances"  is  repulsive.    They  feel  that 
gambling  is  illegitimate,  and  should  never  be  in- 
dulged in.    Nevertheless,  if  any  of  these  before-men- 
tioned people  could  be  assured  that  an  investment  of  ten 
dollars  would  surely  mean  the  gain  of  a  similar  amount, 
do  you  think  their  prejudice  toward  gambling  would  re- 
main? It  is  not  my  intention  to  favor  games  of  chance  as 
a  means  of  livelihood.   What  I  intend  to  argue  is  that  in 
the  conduct  of  our  business  we  must  "take  chances"  in 
order  to  achieve  any  considerable  success.   If  we  are  to 
wait  until  we  find  out  what  is  going  to  sell  before  pur- 
chasing; if  we  are  going  to  wait  to  see  how  certain  goods 
go  with  our  competitors ;  if  we  are  going  to  wait  until  we 
have  calls  for  goods  before  ordering,  the  chances  are  that 
we  will  play  a  continuous  "waiting  game."   It  is  the  lead- 
ers who  win  out  in  the  struggle  in  life.    The  men  whom 
we  all  respect  for  their  great  leadership  have  been  men 
who  have  been  willing  to  take  the  chance.  Washington 
crossed  the  Delaware  river  and  surprised  his  opponents 
on  a  night  when  they  certainly  did  not  expect  an  assault. 
He  took  chances  and  won  out.  When  Lincoln  signed  the 
proclamation  of  emancipation  he  took  chances.    He  had 
weighed  the  cost,  and  went  ahead,  and  he  was  justified. 
Grant  said,  "I  will  fight  it  out  on  this  line  if  it  takes  all 
summer."  To-dapr  he  is  heralded  as  our  greatest  genera!. 
The  world  admires  success,  and  despises  failure.  Sa 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS.  385 


with  the  business  man.  One  goes  ahead  and  makes  cer- 
tain attempts  to  get  business.  He  is  progressive  and 
thoughtful,  but  through  lack  of  capital  or  mismanage- 
ment, he  is  forced  to  the  wall.  Another  man  will  proceed 
on  practically  the  same  lines  and  win  out.  Thus  we  can 
see  how  the  element  of  chance  enters  into  business,  and 
how  we  must  push  forward  and  be  ready  to  quickly  ad- 
just ourselves  to  ever-changing  conditions.  If  a  novelty 
is  presented  to  us  for  purchase,  we  must  quickly  decide 
whether  we  can  sell  it  by  buying  a  sufficient  quantity  for 
window  display,  and  by  appropriate  advertising. 

If  you  are  not  willing  to  take  a  plunge  and  buy  enough 
of  the  article  to  make  a  showing,  better  let  it  alone.  If 
you  merely  buy  a  few  pieces  of  the  goods  and  then  tuck 
them  away  in  the  corner  of  the  window  or  in  a  tray  where 
they  will  not  be  seen,  you  cannot  expect  to  sell  them.  If 
you  are  going  to  wait  until  the  more  progressive  stores 
have  sold  to  practically  every  one  interested  and  then  put 
in  your  line  Just  as  the  idea  is  passing  out,  better  stay  out 
altogether.  In  conversation  with  a  prominent  manufac- 
turer on  this  subject,  he  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  the 
reason  so  many  jewelers  get  stuck  on  novelties  is  that 
they  do  not  get  in  on  the  ground  floor  at  the  beginning  of 
the  sale  of  the  article,  but  wait  until  the  fad  has  had  its 
run,  and  then,  having  had  repeated  calls,  jump  in  and 
buy  a  big  quantity  of  the  goods,  and  keep  them.  The 
jeweler  thereupon  resolves  that  he  will  not  be  caught  in 
that  w  ay  again,  and  when  the  next  novelty  comes  on,  he 
goes  through  precisely  the  same  procedure. 

Why  do  the  department  stores  sell  so  much  jewelry? 
Is  it  not  because  they  have  goods  which  follow  the  pre- 
vailing styles  ?  Let  us  waive  aside  the  fact  that  they  sell 
the  cheaper  class  of  goods,  but  merely  consider  whether 
or  not  they  sell  a  considerable  quantity  of  goods  because 
they  have  what  the  people  want,  when  they  want  it.  Is 
this  true,  or  is  it  not  ?  Another  thing,  people  come  to  you 
and  ask  for  an  article  which  you  do  not  have  in  stock. 
You  promise  to  get  it  for  them.   After  they  go  out  do 


386 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


you  consider  the  matter  for  a  momeiit  and  then  decide 
that  the  customer  will  never  be  in  again,  and  there  is  no 
use  bothering,  or  do  you  go  ahead  and  get  it?  If  you 
have  to  obtain  something  special  for  one  customer,  do  you 
just  get  one  piece,  or  do  you  figure  that  if  one  wishes  it, 
there  may  be  two  or  three  more  who,  seeing  what  she  has 
purchased,  may  wish  the  same  thing?  Are  jewelers  too 
conservative?  It  is  my  opinion  that  they  are.  If  you  ad- 
vertise that  you  have  a  line  of  goods,  be  sure  that  you 
have  them.  Very  often  a  new  customer  will  come  to  your 
store  because  you  advertise  that  you  have  certain  goods, 
and  woe  unto  you  if  you  do  not  have  a  fairly  good  line  of 
them.  The  customer  will  never  come  again.  Novelties 
in  particular  should  not  be  advertised  unless  you  can 
make  a  good  showing  with  them.  Many  times  customers 
of  a  store,  who  do  not  wish  to  trade  elsewhere,  will  al- 
most compel  you  to  put  in  certain  goods  for  which  they 
are  inquiring,  and  invariably  you  will  find  that  the  line 
will  sell.  Many  customers,  however,  do  not  come  but 
once  for  an  article  and  are  lost  if  it  isn't  in  stock. 

If  jewelers  would  figure  matters  just  a  little  bit  differ- 
ently, they  w^ould  get  along  quite  a  little  better  than  under 
present  conditions.  Certain  goods  should  be  purchased 
because  of  their  attractiveness  as  window  decorations, 
and  a  certain  amount  of  their  cost  should  be  charged  to 
advertising  expense.  Prices  on  such  goods  should  be  fixed 
so  that  the  few  odds  and  ends  left  after  the  passing  of 
the  style  can  be  given  away  or  sold  so  cheap  that  the  line 
is  cleared  out  entirely.  The  reputation  of  being  up-to- 
date  brings  lots  of  trade  to  your  store  which  you  would 
otherwise  not  get.  Think  of  that  side  of  the  question 
when  you  think  about  the  matter.  Try  to  cultivate  the 
appearance  of  prosperity  in  your  store,  in  the  class  of 
goods,  the  variety  carried  and  the  manner  of  their  display. 
Use  up-to-date  display  fixtures  in  your  window.  Keep 
your  new  goods  well  forward  and  work  for  results,  not 
wait  for  them. 

When  you  have  something  new  and  novel  show  it  to 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


387 


your  customers.  Many  times  a  customer  will  come  in 
your  store  for  a  repair  job  or  to  buy  some  inexpensive 
article  and  will  linger  a  moment  or  so  to  look  in  your 
cases.  Dp  you  ask  them  in  an  off-hand  manner  if  there 
"is  anything  else,"  or  do  you  reach  into  the  case  where 
they  are  looking  and  show  something  new  which  is  dis- 
played there?  Many  times  if  asked  this  question  a  cus- 
tomer will  answer  in  the  negative  and  hasten  out,  feeling 
that  they  must  not  linger  if  they  do  not  contemplate  an 
immediate  purchase.  Be  ready  to  show  customers  your 
stock.  Show  them  the  new  hall  or  chime  clock  you  have 
just  received.  They  may  not  intend  to  buy  one  but  you 
have  given  them  something  to  think  about.  If  you  have 
a  new  pattern  of  silverware  show  them  that,  and  so  on. 
Take  a  chance.  You  never  know  where  your  next  sale 
is  coming  from.  Learn  from  the  traveling  man.  He  will 
put  his  time  against  yours  any  day  to  show  goods,  realiz- 
ing as  he  does,  that  he  will  never  sell  anything  but  watch 
movements  without  showing  them  first.  Be  just  as  ready 
to  wait  on  your  customers  patiently  and  do  not  wait  for 
them  to  ask  for  the  new  goods,  but  show  them  and  en- 
deavor to  create  a  demand  for  them.  Do  not  be  afraid  of 
wasting  time.  Take  a  chance  on  the  future  sale.  Also 
take  a  chance  on  developing  the  desire  for  ownership  in. 
the  mind  of  the  customer. 

Remember  that  it  is  those  who  lose  who  disapprove  of 
taking  chsuices.  The  winner  believes  thoroughly  in  his 
own  judgment  and  tries  again.  But  do  not  carry  the  ele- 
ment of  chance  outside  of  your  own  business.  Stick  to 
the  game  that  you  know  the  most  about  and  you  will  win 
out. 


38« 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


CHAPTER  XCIX. 


MAKING  VALUABLE  ALLIES  OF  YOUR  CLERKS. 

Seek  to  Avoid  a  Clm  Spirit— Cultivate  Latent  Talent  in  Your 
Employees — Encourage  Them  to  Originate  Ideas— Do 
Not  be  Too  Critical  of  Untried  Ifetlioda— Create  a  Spirit 
of  Co-operatioii— Building  a  Buainets  Requires  a  Com- 
bination of  Facnltiea. 

IN  a  great  many  stores  classes  are  established,  superin- 
tendents, managers  and  owners  constituting  one 
class,  the  employes  another.  This  develops  the  spirit 

that  the  men  are  mere  machines,  having  no  other  interest 
than  to  obtain  their  weekly  pay,  and  the  feeling  that  they 
are  wearing  their  lives  out  making  other  men  rich.  Thus 
we  find  in  great  commercial  enterprises  the  men  uniting 
to  protect  their  interests,  feeling  that  unless  they  do  so 
they  cannot  expect  to  receive  justice  at  the  hands  of  their 
employers.  Such  feelings  ought  not  to  exist.  The  capi- 
talist could  do  nothing  without  labor,  and  latx>r  could 
certainly  do  nothing  without  capital.  While  we  can  un- 
derstand that  in  big  factories  there  is  no  possible  way  that 
the  men  can  be  made  allies  of  the  owners,  to  the  extent  of 
being  taken  into  confidence  about  the  ways  and  means 
^niployed  to  stimulate  trade,  and  to  improve  the  means  of 
distributing  goods,  still  in  the  small  enterprises  of  which 
we  are  all  a  part,  the  clerks  should  certainly  be  allies  of 
the  concern  and  not  merely  hired  help.  It  is  a  positive 
truth  that  some  emi)loyes  are  much  more  competent  than 
the  men  who  furnish  them  their  livelihood,  but  through 
force  of  circumstances,  such  as  lack  of  capital,  or  lack  of 
confidence,  remain  in  a  subordinate  position.  These  men 
can  help  to  develop  wonderfully  the  business  with  which 
they  are  connected,  if  given  a  proper  chance. 

In  many  establishments  the  employes  have  seen  long 
years  of  service,  starting  in  as  the  boy  around  the  store, 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


389 


doing  the  errands,  sweeping  the  sidewalk,  and  so  on.  We 
all  have  diflPerent  talents;  perhaps  that  boy  who  is  in  a 
subordinate  position  in  your  store  may  possess  much  bet- 
ter ideas  regarding  window  dressing  than  you,  who  com- 
bine a  superficial  knowledge  of  salesmanship,  watchmak- 
ing, window  dressing,  advertisement  writing,  etc.  Give 
him  a  chance  to  develop.  If  you  invite  one  of  your  em- 
ployes to  go  ahead  and  do  a  certain  job,  do  not  stand  by 
to  watch  the  work  from  start  to  finish  and  do  not  be  un- 
necessarily critical  in  your  after  inspection.  If  one  of 
your  men  seems  to  feel  that  he  could  write  a  good  adver- 
tisement let  him  try  it  out,  and  publish  ft  as  he  gives  it 
to  you.  It  will  make  him  feel  honored  to  see  that  his 
work  was  considered  worthy  of  publication.  It  will  en- 
courage him  to  put  in  an  hour  or  two  at  home  working 
for  you  and  trying  to  produce  something  new  and  inter- 
esting in  that  line.  No  one  man  knows  it  all,  or  even  a 
large  part  of  it  all.  Invite  co-operation  from  those  who 
earn  their  living  in  your  service.  If  you  keep  a  man 
down  he  becomes  in  time  a  mere  automaton,  so  that  he 
has  no  ideas  other  than  to  do  the  work  set  before  him 
and  to  quit  on  the  stroke  of  the  bell. 

In  every  store  where  watches  and  clocks  are  sold  there 
is  a  certain  amount  of  work  necessary  to  keep  the  stock, 
in  salable  condition.  Watches  lying  in  stock  need  occa- 
sional attention.  We  aim  to  turn  stock  often,  but  there 
are  few  of  us  who  do  not  keep  many  movements  over  a 
year  in  stock.  How  about  these  ?  Are  they  in  fit  condi- 
tion to  give  the  service  your  customer  will  expect  and 
which  you  are  willing  to  guarantee?  Do  the  hands  on 
some  of  your  w^atches  catch,  are  the  glasses  on  others  too 
low,  or  are  they  broken?  Do  your  clocks  strike  right? 
Do  they  run  a  week  with  a  small  variation,  such  as  five 
minutes?  All  these  and  many  other  questions  will  sug- 
gest themselves  to  the  inquiring  mind.  Are  you  prepared 
to  attend  to  all  these  little  details  yourself,  or  do  you  de- 
velop your  clerks  and  mechanics  so  that  each  is  contin-^ 
iially  on  the  lookout  for  something  to  make  conditions 
better  and  sales  easier?  Nothing  so  easily  knocks  a  sale 


390 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


in  the  head  as  to  find  that  you  cannot  get  the  movement 
in  the  case  selected  to  start  up  when  wound.  All  this 
could  have  been  avoided  by  having  one  of  your  watch- 
maker^ include  in  his  duties  that  of  keeping  your  watch 
stock  in  good  order.  Every  week  time  could  be  spent  to 
advantage  on  jobs  of  this  character  and  it  would  prove 
to  be  a  very  pleasant  change  for  him,  because  it  is  cer- 
tainly easier  to  work  on  new  watches  than  on  old,  worn- 
out  ones.  Then,  in  the  showing  of  clocks,  do  the  ham- 
mers hit  the  gongs  properly,  or  do  you  have  to  fool 
around  with  pliers,  bending  wires  and  trying  to  adjust 
the  striking  part  so  that  the  anticipated  musical  sound 
will  be  heard?  Ofttinies,  where  customers  are  undecided 
whether  to  buy  or  look  further,  or  where  they  are  slow 
to  part  with  their  money,  such  instances,  trivial  in  them- 
selves, give  them  the  opportunity  to  make  excuses  for  not 
buying.  Once  gone,  your  chance  of  making  that  partic- 
ular sale  is  probably  gone  too.  Train  one  of  your  men 
to  make  a  specialty  of  looking  over  the  clock  stock  and 
seeing  that  things  are  as  they  should  be.  If  your  men 
are  made  allies  of  your  business  they  will  do  this  work 
cheerfully  and  well  with  telling  results. 

If  you  have  salesmen  specially  employed  for  that  pur- 
pose, or  if  your  watchmakers  are  required  to  wait  on 
trade,  do  not  take  customers  away  from  them  and  do  not 
**butt  into"  the  conversation.  There  a/e  few  of  us  that 
can  do  as  good  work  with  some  critical  listener  as  we  can 
when  talking  to  our  customers  alone.  Ofttimes  there  is 
a  great  temptation  for  the  proprietor  or  manager  of  a 
store  to  step  in  and  take  customers  away  from  salesmen. 
Perhaps  he  will  make  the  sale  and  perhaps  he  will  not, 
but  whichever  way  it  turns  out,  ten  chances  to  one  the  re- 
sult would  have  been  the  same  in  either  case.  There  is 
nothing  that  will  more  surely  prevent  the  development  of 
salesmanship  in  a  clerk  than  to  have  this  course  of  pro- 
cedure followed.  No  matter  how  much  he  may  try  or 
how  hard  he  may  work,  the  sale  is  taken  out  of  his  hands 
just  as  he  thought  he  had  it  made.  It  is  certainly  dis- 
couraging, and  one  can  hardly  blame  the  man  who  be- 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS.  391 


comes  listless  under  such  conditions,  who  does  not  care 
whether  he  waits  on  customers  or  not ;  who,  if  he  does, 
exhibits  no  interest  in  the  matter  whatever ;  who  displays 
goods  called  for  and  quotes  prices;  who  gives  no  descrip- 
tion of  the  goods,  or  but  a  scanty  and  faint-hearted  one ; 
and  who  seldom,  if  ever,  makes  a  sale.  If  an  employe 
waits  on  a  customer  and  fails  to  land  a  sale,  do  not  point 
out  at  that  time  wherein  his  failure  lay.  Encourage  him, 
and  tell  him  that  he  did  his  best;  that  no  one  could  have 
made  that  particular  sale ;  that  the  customer  was  hard  to 
please ;  or  that  you  think  lie  made  such  an  impression  0*1 
them  that  a  sale  will  probably  result  later. 

If  you  ask  your  salesman  for  suggestions  be  ready  to 
adopt  some  of  them.  Try  them  out.  If  not  successful 
you  can  easily  drop  them.  Once  in  a  while  you  will  find 
these  suggestions  to  be  good  ones,  and  if  encouraged  your 
men  will  be  continually  on  the  outlook  for  ways  and 
means  of  stimulating  your  business.  Never  fail  to  re- 
ward the  hustler  with  sufficient  wages.  Never  let  a  man 
work  for  you  for  less  than  he  is  worth  just  because  he 
has  become  a  part  of  your  store  and  does  not  wish  to 
change.  Teach  your  helpers  that  as  they  increase  in 
value,  as  they  develop  themselves  and  make  your  busi- 
ness grow,  they  can  expect  to  reap  a  corresponding  bene- 
fit in  increased  salary. 

If  you  encourage  your  employes  to  talk  with  you,  you 
will  find  less  dissatisfaction ;  less  killing  of  time,  and  less 
half-hearted  work.  Building  a  business  requires  more 
than  one  brain ;  more  than  one  pair  of  hands.  In  union 
is  strength.  Develop  the  spirit  of  co-operation  and  dis- 
tribution of  labor  and  see  how  much  better  you  get  along. 
Some  men  work  harder  trying  to  run  a  business  with 
three  or  four  assistants  than  the  superintendent  or  man- 
ager of  a  factory  with  three  or  four  thousand  men.  Dis- 
tribute responsibility.  Make  a  man  responsible  for  cer- 
tain things,  and  you  will  find  as  a  general  thing  that  he 
will  make  good;  that  he  will  grow  and  expand  into  a 
useful  assistant,  where  otherwise  he  would  have  devel- 
oped into  nothing  more  than  an  automaton. 


392 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS 


Pope  tells  us,  ''The  proper  study  of  mankind  is  man.'* 
Study  those  with  whom  you  are  constantly  associated 
If  you  can  read  human  nature  at  all,  you  can  readily  see 
wherein  you  can  interest  your  different  employes.  Culti- 
vate their  friendship  and  good  wishes,  remembering  all 
the  time  that  "we  are  brothers." 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS,   393 


CHAPTER  C. 


RELATION  OF  CREDIT  TO  SUCCESS  IN  BUSINESS. 

Credit  the  Foundation  of  All  Business— QuaUtie*  Upon  WWA 
Credit  is  Based— Personality  and  Hablt»  Impoit^t  Fac- 
tors— Courtesy  and  Frankness  Alw  of  Vahi»—  *«P^ 
tion  for  Slow  Pay  a  Serious  Hsndics^Be  Hoii«rtWitli 
Your  Banker— Pointers  on  ntanonrndnm  Credits- 
Credit  Means  More  Than  Singly  Buying  on  Time. 

THOSE  in  a  position  to  know,  state  that  without 
credit  most  of  our  big  enterprises  could  not  exist, 
nor,  for  that  matter,  could  the  smaller  ones. 
There  is  not  enough  money  in  existence  to  make  a  strictly 
cash  business  possible,  and  if  everything  were  paid  for  as 
purchased  dealers  could  not  extend  their  Imes  except  as 
they  realized  on  goods  which  they  already  had  m  stock. 
Any  thinking  person  would  realize  that  this  would  sen- 
ously  hamper  the  development  of  busmess.    A  mans 
ability  to  pay  is  the  prime  reason  why  he  can  obtain 
credit,  although  many  manufacturers  and  jobbers  will 
risk  an  equal  amount  of  money  with  the  debtor.    That  is, 
if  a  man  has  five  thousand  dollars  he  can  obtain  credit  for 
an  additional  five  thousand.    While  ability  counts  for 
more  than  willingness,  nevertheless  it  is  possible  for  the 
man  of  established  honesty  and  sterling  worth  to  obtain 
credit  far  beyond  what  his  real  financial  condition  will 
iustify    Thus  young  men,  who  have  an  intimate  knowl- 
edge of  the  intricacies  of  business  with  a  determination 
to  succeed,  coupled  with  untiring  energy,  are  enabled  to 
obtain  from  men  who  have  watdicd  them  for  years  and 
know  their  habits  of  living,  the  fixtures  and  goods  or  the 
money  equivalent  to  enable  them  to  start  in  busmc^. 
What  is  it  about  a  man  that  gives  you  confidence  m  his 


394 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


integrity  or  fills  you  with  a  feeling  of  distrust?  Is  it  not 
his  personality  which  reflects  the  mode  of  his  private  life? 
We  little  know  how  single  actions  of  ours,  in  themselves 
of  comparatively  little  account,  will  influence  the  judg- 
ment and  opinion  of  those  whose  good  opinion  it  may  be 
desirable  for  us  to  obtain  and  hold  in  later  years.  Take, 
for  instance,  the  habit  of  using  profanity  extensively,  or 
that  of  dispensing  "ofif-color"  stories.  Ek)  such  habits  im- 
prove your  standing  among  your  friends  and  business 
a.ssociates,  or  do  they  tend  to  invite  question  in  the  com- 
mercial world?  Better  acijuire  the  rci)utation  of  being 
dull  and  uninteresting  than  one  for  talk  which  is  not  ele- 
vating. Then  there  is  the  good  fellow  who  feels  that  in 
order  to  impress  you  with  his  good  fellowship  he  must 
buy  you  a  drink.  Does  he  create  the  impression  he  de- 
sires? Other  things  being  ecjual,  which  man  would  you 
place  confidence  in,  the  drinking  man  or  the  abstainer? 
Perhaps  this  all  sounds  like  a  prohibition  address,  or  a 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  talk,  but  the  idea  is  to  make  you  realize  how 
certain  things  impress  you,  then  looking  at  it  from  the 
other  side,  consider  if  your  creditors  have  reason  to  put 
much  confidence  in  you,  although  you  are  as  honest  as 
the  day  is  long.  Then  again,  when  you  receive  your  state- 
ments on  the  first  of  the  month  and  are  unable  *:o  remit 
according  to  terms,  do  you  write  an  explanatory  line  to 
your  creditors  or  do  you  tear  up  the  statements  and  throw 
them  in  the  waste  basket?  The  man  who  first  gave  you 
credit  will  probably  grant  an  extension  of  time,  if  asked 
for.  It  always  pays  to  be  honest  with  one's  creditors.  If 
given  explanations  they  are  satisfie^l,  but  if  left  in  the 
dark  regarding  your  financial  condition  and  your  inten- 
tions, they  are  certainly  bound  to  form  an  unfavorable 
opinion  of  you,  which  if  talked  around  will  result  in  many 
firms  striking  your  name  from  their  calling  list.  Tliis 
you  cannot  afford  to  have  happen. 

Acquaintance  m  the  trade  is  worth  a  great  deal.  You 
cannot  buy  from  every  traveling  man  who  calls,  but  you 
•  should  be  glad  to  see  them  just  the  same.  Ofttimes  it 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


395 


seems  as  though  it  would  be  a  great  relief  if  a  few  of 
them  would  stay  away,  but  nevertheless,  it  would  be  a 
losing  thing  for  us  all  if  they  did.  The  representative 
who  calls  and  calls  without  selling  you  a  bill,  does  not  get 
discouraged,  because  he  knows  that  you  are  perfectly  re- 
liable and  trustworthy.  He  concludes  that  you  can  buy  to 
better  advantage  elsewhere  and  accordingly  makes  you  the 
best  terms  possible  on  his  line.  But  if  your  credit  is  such 
that  new  firms  keep  away  from  you  while  your  old  houses 
are  carrying  you  along,  do  you  think  that  you  are  getting 
the  best  prices  on  the  goods  you  buy  ?  You  are  in  no  po- 
sition to  get  them  if  you  have  established  a  reputation 
for  being  slow  pay,  and  the  old  concerns  who  are  carry- 
ing you  will  often  be  willing  to  circulate  such  a  report, 
because  as  long  as  you  are  behind  with  them  and  have  to 
buy  from  them  the  additional  profit  which  you  pay  en- 
riches them  just  so  much,  while  at  the  same  time  it  puts 
you  in  a  position  where  you  cannot  compete  with  your 
fellow  tradesmen.  Better  go  slow ;  buy  in  small  quanti- 
ties; pay  promptly  for  what  you  get,  increasing  your 
stock  as  the  demand  justifies. 

In  establishing  a  credit  one  of  the  first  places  one 
should  go  is  to  his  banker.    Banks  have  money  to  loan 
but  they  want  to  loan  it  only  to  those  of  approved  credit. 
Every  jeweler  should  make  a  complete  and  honest  state- 
ment to  his  banker  of  his  financial  condition,  filmg  a  sum- 
mary of  his  inventory,  with  current  liabilities,  and  his 
net  worth.  He  can  then  have  an  understanding  as  to  his 
borrowing  credit.  Once  this  is  arranged  he  does  not  have 
to  wonder  where  he  is  going  to  meet  maturing  obliga- 
tions, neither  does  he  have  to  let  bills  mature  and  lose 
discounts,  but  as  the  occasion  demands  he  can  give  notes 
to  his  bank  for  the  amounts  required  and  thus  establish 
a  credit  among  those  with  whom  he  does  business,  besides 
getting  the  benefit  of  the  cash  saving  in  value  purchasing 
dollars.    Then  again,  the  establishing  of  a  borrowing 
credit  will  enable  you  to  take  advantage  of  bargains  of- 
fered you  for  immediate  accq>tance  for  cash. 


396  EVANS'S  ESSAYS, 


Once  in  a  while  some  manufacturers  and  jobbers  are  in 
just  as  tight  a  positicMi  as  the  retailer  ever  gets,  and  at 
such  times  "money  talks/'  It  is  certainly  greatly  to  one's 
advantage  to  know  that  he  has  a  certain  amount  of  money 
always  at  his  command  and  that  when  he  needs  some  ht 
does  not  have  to  go  to  his  bank  and  beg  for  it.  The  freely 
given  explanation  of  one's  affairs,  to  those  to  whom  such 
knowledge  is  absolutely  essential  if  they  are  to  help  you 
when  you  need  help,  is  the  biggest  assistance  to  a  man  in 
business  that  one  can  imagine. 

The^e  is  another  kind  of  credit  to  establish,  and  that  is 
"memorandum"  credit.  We  all  have  calls  for  goods 
which  we  do  not  carry  in  stock,  and  these  we  send  for  to 
some  wholesale  house.  When  we  get  them  do  we  write 
our  price  on  a  tag  and  fasten  it  to  the  article,  or  do  we 
write  all  over  the  card  on  which  it  is  displayed?  Do  we 
leave  the  goods  in  our  show  window  after  the  customer 
who  wished  to  see  them  has  called  and  allow  them  to  be- 
come soiled  and  tarnished?  Do  we  send  them  back  at 
once  to  the  accommodating  wholesaler,  or  do  we  wait  un- 
til he  writes  for  them  ?  Do  we  throw^  the  ^oods  in  a  box, 
stutl  in  a  little  tissue  paper  to  keep  them  from  shaking 
around,  or  do  we  carefully  wash  out  each  article  and  do 
up  each  one  in  a  separate  tissue  paper  to  afford  proper 
protection,  to  the  stones  and  enamel  work  and  do  we  also 
remember  to  prepay  the  return  express?  These  little  de- 
tails may  seem  very  inconsequential,  but  the  writer  can 
assure  you  that  on  these  very  things  depend  your  ability 
to  obtain  promptly  the  little  favors  of  this  kind  which 
you  desire  and  absolutely  need.  The  ability  to  draw  from 
the  exclusive  stocks  of  the  country  any  of  their  most  de- 
sirable goods  is  certainly  worth  having.  Consider  well 
then  the  many  little  points  about  such  matters  and  try  to 
establish  a  reputation  of  taking  fully  as  good  care  of  an- 
other's goods  as  you  would  of  your  own. 

Credit  is  really  more  than  being  able  to  obtain  time  to 
pay  for  goods.  It  is  really  establishing  the  reputation  of 
beuQg  one  who  believes  in  the  prindf^es  and  lives  up  to 


EVANS'S  ESSAYS. 


the  teachings  of  the  Golden  Rule,  "do  unto  others  as  you 
would  that  they  should  do  to  you."  The  granting  of 
credit  is  a  mutual  advantage  to  creditor  and  debtor.  Oft- 
times  the  jeweler  feels  that  he  is  conferring  a  great  favor 
upon  the  creditor  by  buying  goods  from  him,  whereas  he 
could  not  continue  in  business  unless  he  could  buy  the 
goods.  It  is  certainly  worth  while  to  acquire  the  charac- 
ter of  an  honest  man,  for  "An  honest  man  is  the  noblest 
work  of  God." 


COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY 

This  book  is  due  on  the  date  indicated  below,  or  at  the 
expiration  of  a  definite  period  after  the  date  of  borrowing, 
as  provided  by  the  rules  of  the  Library  or  by  tpecial  ar- 
rangement with  the  Librarian  in  charge. 


Ev  I 


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